Unhinged
by NinjaGal183
Summary: When things aren't moving fast enough for Gordon he hires Jessie, a private detective to help him take down the Mob. Things get worse than what she bargained for when she meets the Joker. Is she as corruptible as the rest?
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place during TDK. First chapter takes place a little before the bank robbery.**

 **The rating will change as the story progresses and will contain violence, language etc. You've been warned!**

* * *

Chapter 1

She took a long sip of her coffee and glanced at the clock above the empty bar. It was almost midnight. She looked down at her cup as she came near the bottom and glanced over at the TV, it was a rerun of Harvey Dent's small campaign rally, talking about cleaning up the streets of Gotham. The longer she stared at the screen the more it sounded like mindless rambling. She scoffed and took another sip from her coffee as the owner walked by, wiping down the tables.

She didn't look up when the door of the café opened with a little jingle. The man who entered had rectangular glasses, dark brown hair and mustache with flecks of gray. He looked around curiously before spotting her and approached her table.

"Miss. Hargrove," a voice said.

"Gordon" she greeted, glancing upward as the man sat on the other side of the booth. "By the way, you can just call me Jessie"

"I think it's better if I don't, especially if we're in the open like this" he replied

"Whatever makes you comfortable, Lieutenant" Jessie shrugged. They were by themselves in an empty café. If she was on the job in any other setting she wouldn't be okay with someone using her name.

"I'm glad you agreed to meet me, but I wish you'd chosen a less dangerous time and in a more inconspicuous location—"

"You'd rather meet in broad daylight when it's easier for the mob to stalk you?" she asked in a calm yet sarcastic tone. "And this café's safe, no one's walking in or out of here except us so you don't have to worry" she explained, to which Gordon raised an eyebrow questionably. "Let's just say the owner owes me a favor" she shrugged off.

As if on cue, the owner walked out of the back kitchen and placed a steaming coffee pot and fresh cups on their table, locked the front door and pulled the blinds so no one could see them, and dimming the lights just enough that it would give the illusion that they were closed but left enough so she and Gordon could still see each other. The owner looked back to Jessie and nodded once before disappearing into the back kitchen again.

"So…" she continued, pouring fresh coffee into the cups and sliding one towards him. "Why did you want to see me?"

Gordon leaned over the table, holding his cup of coffee. "Do you keep up with the news, Miss. Hargrove?"

"I try to" she replied, ripping two packets of sugar open.

"Then you probably heard about money-launderers the D.A.'s been putting behind bars"

"I've heard about it. Why?" she asked curiously, opening a third sugar packet.

Gordon sighed deeply. "Despite the many money-launderers the D.A. had managed to lock up, the mob's still getting its money out somehow. We're close yet still too far from locking any of them away"

Jessie frowned. "That's not what Mr. Dent said at his press conference last week" she pointed out suspiciously.

"That part…was Commissioner Loeb's idea. Sometimes you need to stretch the truth a little to maintain public assurance" he explained slowly. "Dent might've managed to get a written confession about the new head of the Falcone crime family, but there's still a lot of room for something to go wrong"

What was he getting at? Sure, this little plan to get a mob boss behind bars was shaky but Gordon sounded like he had a backup plan he didn't like.

She stayed quiet and waited for him to finish. There was a long pause before he continued. "I won't beat around the bush" he said firmly, folding his hands on the table. "I'm asking for your help" he finally said.

" _My_ help?" she repeated incredulously. "Forgive me, Lieutenant Gordon, but this is outside my purview"

"I know, this was a last resort for me. Miss. Hargrove, you're one of the most excellent undercover detectives I've had the honor of working with, you managed to bust a human trafficking ring that was operating right here in the heart of Gotham—"

"What about your caped crusader?" she interrupted calmly, folding her arms over her chest. Although she was flattered by his praise it didn't make sense to use her when he had a perfectly capable masked accomplice who worked outside the law to help him. Gordon didn't say anything. "Don't worry. You already know I'm not a rat" she assured.

Gordon exhaled. "Batman's relayed a lot of information to me about crime organizations in the past year and he's the reason so many of them are locked up right now. Thanks to his efforts, the mob don't move around as freely anymore and they might be secretly meeting with other mobsters, even foreign ones"

She furrowed her eyebrows interestedly, folding her hands under her chin as she finally understood. "And you need someone to get on the inside" she finished.

The ends of Gordon's mouth twitched. "We might be able to move things much faster" he nodded.

Jessie sighed and stirred her coffee thoughtfully. "Is this job an offer or a request, Mr. Gordon?"

"I'd like to think of it as a request. Again, I'm coming to you as a last resort" Gordon replied, sipping his coffee.

He reached into his jacket and took out a yellow envelope, sliding towards her. She studied him curiously before opening the envelope and quickly reading over the documents inside, her eyebrows rising higher as she got to the bottom of the page.

"I won't fault you for declining. I know its new territory for you" Gordon said patiently.

"New territory? They might as well be two countries separated by an ocean" she chuckled, glancing up at him. She put the documents neatly back in the envelope and folded her hands over it. "I'll take the job" she decided.

Gordon raised his eyebrows, surprised by her answer. Either he was astonished that she agreed to take on the job or that she gave an answer so quickly, Jessie couldn't tell.

"How soon did you want me to start?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Next week would be preferable"

Jessie tapped her fingers thoughtfully against her mug and took a long sip. "Three days" she exhaled, setting the mug down. "Give me three days to read over the documents and come up with a plan and then I'll get back to you. Is that okay?"

"Three days?" Gordon repeated dubiously, "Are you sure that's enough time?"

"I can make it work" she promised. "So do we have a deal?"

Gordon stayed quiet for a moment as he was thinking and finally outstretched his hand and Jessie shook it. They discussed the assignment for another half hour before both stood up and headed for the back door.

"I don't think I have to advise you on not involving any friends of yours" Gordon pointed out as they stepped into the dark alley.

"You don't have to worry, I don't have many friends. Just a roommate" she replied, reaching into her pocket. "Here," she said, handing him a piece of paper.

"What's this?" he asked, unfolding it.

"A lead on Jonathan Crane. A week from now he'll be at those coordinates at that time" she explained, putting on her hood. "Pass that on to your Batman" she told him, slipping on her sunglasses and then went their separate ways.

A light drizzle of rain poured on the quiet streets of Gotham city. More often than not there'd be the sound of blaring sirens driving by, but it was so much quieter now. In a city like Gotham, no less, it was almost…jarring. But she knew why just like everyone else.

It didn't take long for her to get back to her apartment. She kicked her shoes off in the corner and quietly tiptoed through the hall, not looking twice at the necktie on her roommate's doorknob and moved quickly to her bedroom so she wouldn't have to hear their giggles longer than she had to. Jessie shut the door behind her, spread the documents on her bed and began to read them thoroughly, preparing for it to be a long night.

* * *

Jessie hardly noticed the rays of sunlight streaming through her window. She was chewing on the end of her pen when her door suddenly burst open. Her head shot up to see her roommate standing in her doorway in a baggy shirt that was hanging off one shoulder and no pants.

"Knock much?" Jessie asked sarcastically as her roommate entered her room with a frown and picked up the coffee pot that was sitting on her nightstand.

"You know, I don't know why we bother putting the coffee maker in the kitchen if you keep bringing the pot in your room!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, I've been working all night, okay?" Jessie replied defensively.

She batted her blue eyes curiously. "Oh, what're you working on?" she asked, craning her head to look at the papers on her bed.

"I got a new assignment. Do you mind?" she said, slapping her hand over the documents.

"Hey, H—"

Both girls turned to the doorway to see a half-naked man with messy red hair standing awkwardly in the hall.

"Oh, er…hi, you must be the roommate" he said embarrassingly.

Jessie gave an awkward little wave as her roommate tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Jessie, this is Ben, we met at the bar last night. Ben, this is Jessie. Ain't she gorgeous?" her roommate teased, hugging Jessie's head.

She rolled her eyes and pulled away. "Listen, I'm kind of in the middle of something important. So if you two don't mind a little privacy, please?" she said bluntly.

"Oh, sorry, I'll just…wait in the hall" Ben said clumsily and walked away.

"He's so cute when he's awkward" her roommate cooed, turning to Jessie with her hands on her hips. "You know, you're never gonna get a guy with that attitude"

"Yeah, well, for now I'm married to my work. Oh, by the way we're out of sugar" Jessie added as her friend rolled her eyes and walked away with the coffee pot. "Oh, hey, one more thing?" she called.

She stopped in the doorway and turned her head. "What's up?"

"Do you mind if I borrow that new dress you bought? I might need something like that for this assignment"

She raised an eyebrow as if Jessie had asked to borrow her boyfriend, but she knew better than to ask questions especially in her line of work.

"Just give it back to me dry-cleaned" she said.

"You're a saint, Harley!"

"I _know_!" she sang matter-of-factly.

* * *

 **Future chapters will be longer and more detailed, this one's mostly just a prologue for what's to come. If you enjoyed this chapter, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you Courtney-Tamara and PrettyUnteal for reviewing and to those who faved/followed!**

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Chapter 2:

"There has to be some other way" Gordon hissed in disagreement.

"If you have a better plan, I'd love to hear it" Jessie told him quietly. "I went over all the possible ways I could get on the inside and this is the best one. I know it's cliché—"

"Maroni would never fall for it, it's the oldest trick in the book" Gordon argued.

"Because it works" she whispered impatiently.

Gordon remained silent, but Jessie didn't dare look at him and instead acted like she was invested in the book she was reading. They've been arguing for what felt like an hour to her at a deserted bus stop. Gordon was in his suit while Jessie wore a dark green shirt with faded jeans, sitting on the bench behind him and facing the opposite direction. It wasn't the greatest location to meet but it was better than Gordon's office. She'd heard rumors about Maroni having people inside the police force and wasn't going to take any chances of being overheard.

"Listen…" she exhaled, hitching the book just a little higher to hide her mouth. "This is my least favorite method too, but we have a better chance of getting somewhere. I'm doing it tonight, with or without your approval"

Gordon sighed deeply. "You're going to go through with this plan?" he said more as a statement than a question.

"Yes"

"And there's nothing I can do to talk you out of it otherwise?"

"No"

He obviously wasn't convinced about the plan but he stood up and smoothed out the front of his coat before saying "I'll go with your instincts this time, detective. However, I expect you to meet me halfway with a compromise"

Jessie was quiet for a moment as she thought it over. "I suppose it's the least I can do for my biggest client" she agreed.

She heard him chuckle softly. "Good. We'll discuss it tonight then"

"I won't be a minute late" she promised.

Jessie gave the tiniest of nods as Gordon walked away. She stayed at the bus stop just for a while longer to avoid suspicion in case someone was watching, hoping she looked like the young college student she was attempting to be. It wasn't too far from the truth…

Her eyes scanned the sidewalk twice, looking for any suspicious figures. When she was sure she wasn't being watched, she picked up her bag and started walking back towards her apartment.

* * *

When Jessie stepped inside she was shocked to see Harley sprawled on the couch in her bra and underwear with a half empty bottle of wine on the coffee table.

"Harleen Quinzel, I thought we said no nudity in the living room!" Jessie said sharply.

"There's two things I hate in this world, job-hunting and men!" she declared dramatically, throwing her arm over her eyes.

She stared in confusion before she realized the meaning behind her statement. "Oh Christ, not this again…" she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose before reluctantly plopping down in the seat by Harley, almost tripping over the grey shirt that was laying at the foot of the table. "Alright, what happened this time?" she sighed, resting her chin in her palm.

"Ben g-ghosted me. And then I got this in the mail t-today" she hiccupped tipsily, tossing a creased piece of on her lap. "Read it"

Jessie unfolded it quizzically. " _'Dear Miss. Quinzel…'_ " she read aloud " _'We appreciate you taking the time to apply with us here at Blackgate Penitentiary. However, we regret to inform you that we currently don't have a position to offer at this time. We'd like to thank you for your interest—'_ "

"Don't have a position, my ass! That's just a nice way of saying that they don't want me" she pouted. Jessie opened her mouth but abruptly stopped when she raised a sharp finger. "I swear if you give me any fortune-cookie wisdom, I'm gonna hit you" Harley snapped dryly.

She made a face. "First of all, when have I ever given any fortune-cookie wisdom?" she replied sarcastically, tossing the paper back to Harley. "And secondly, why are you applying to penitentiaries? Did Gotham General let you go?"

"No, no, it's not like that…" she said, "They have a great psychology department and all, but I think it's time for a change"

Jessie made a face, knowing Harley had only been working at Gotham General for a year. "Does this have anything to do with that guy you were with?" she asked delicately.

Harley groaned and threw an arm over her eyes so Jessie could only see her flushed cheeks. "Turns out he's an intern at Gotham General. He took one look at me and then ran off like I was the plague! I mean I know it was a one night stand, but I liked him" she said, rubbing her tear-stained cheeks.

Jessie swallowed back an exasperated sigh. "Well, he's missing out" she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Am I easy?" she moaned sadly.

"No, Harley, you're not. You just…fall in love a little easily, that's all" Jessie assured, struggling to find the right words as she patted her shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, she wasn't the psychologist.

Harley rolled over like a cat and dangled her head off the edge of the sofa, eyes staring at her. "Why can't I be like you, Jess?"

"Like me? What does that mean?" Jessie scoffed with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, smart and prude" she said, waving her hand up theatrically and knocking over the wine glass. "Ow…" she mumbled, rubbing her knuckles.

Jessie frowned at her comment and then at the spill. "Okay, can we at least try not getting more wine stains on the carpet? They're a bitch to get out" she said, grabbing the roll of paper towels from the kitchen. Harley was somehow a functioning and sloppy drunk at the same time. She patted down several paper towels on the carpet and then cleaned the spill on the table. "And I'm not a prude" she added defensively.

"Sure, Jess, whatever…" Harley muttered sarcastically

"You know, I thought we were talking about you" she said rigorously.

"I don't want to talk about me…" she whined, "Talking about you is a better distraction…"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, at the very least can you put on some clothes?" she huffed exasperatedly, tossing the grey shirt at the foot of the table her friend. Harley mumbled something incoherent and pulled the shirt over her head. "And since you're so eager to talk about me, I need a new favor" Jessie continued, patting wads of paper towels on the carpet. "I need to borrow your stilettos for tonight"

Harley frowned in disbelief and Jessie could practically read her mind, as if her thoughts were being broadcast on her forehead. It was weird enough asking her to borrow a dress let alone her stilettos "What exactly is this new job of yours?" she asked suspiciously.

"I can't give you details, all I can say is that I'll be hanging around the wrong kind of people for a while"

Harley's eyebrows knit together as she turned on her stomach. "And what exactly will you be doing?" she probed sternly, almost like a mother that caught her child sneaking out in the middle of the night.

"I need to get information out of some guy, so I plan on seducing him" Jessie replied casually, crumpling the used paper towels in a ball and tossed them in the kitchen's waste bin.

Harley widened her eyes as if Jessie just told her that she was the Batman. Harley was silent for a solid minute before she burst out laughing and rolled—actually, rolled— off the couch, clutching her stomach. Jessie was bemused to say the least and wondered if it was possible to laugh yourself sober because Harley seemed to be doing just that.

"Oh my god, that's—that's the greatest thing I've ever heard!" Harley cried in laughter. "Thanks a lot, Jess, you made my crappy day so much better!"

"What's so funny?" Jessie demanded in annoyance.

"Oh god…" Harley started to say, wiping a tear from her eye as her laughter died down. She looked to Jess, whose expression was far from amused. "Oh…oh, you're serious?"

"Have I ever joked about my job before?" she asked sarcastically as Harley stood up with her arms crossed and the amused look on her face turned into one of disbelief. "I'm not clueless, you know" she muttered defensively.

"I'm not saying you are, sweetie. I'm just saying that, well, you know how you are about all the intimate stuff; this is a huge leap"

Harleen Quinzel, friend and shrink.

It was true, Jessie had, well, trust issues...which ultimately led to her having certain problems with intimacy. She wasn't one to let her guard down easily, or at all for that matter. Harley was the only who knew. Of course, if you couldn't confide in your therapist friend about something like that who can you trust?

She didn't have as many sexual relations as her either but she was more of a late-bloomer than a prude as Harley loved to tease her for. The girls she'd briefly known throughout her life loved to sit in circles and brag about the things they did and how they lost their virginity in high school (or some even earlier than that) while she lost hers in college. It just happened and didn't think it needed to be discussed in detail. Hell, the only person she told was Harley.

"I'll be fine" Jessie assured

Harley folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter, not even trying to hide the concerned look on her face.

"Are you sure? I can come with you if you want" she insisted.

It was funny, if Harley had chosen to be a private detective then she would've been really good at it, maybe even better than her. Harley was beautiful, tan, blonde and was blessed with a nice figure. She was good at socializing and thrived off of interaction with other people while Jessie enjoyed having time to herself, watching crime documentaries with cheap wine. They were about as different as two people could get, it was amazing they even got along. Although in hindsight it was probably because of Harley's persistence they became friends at all. If Harley was taking on this mission she wouldn't have to try hard to get a man's attention, a mobster man no less. She could have men throwing themselves at her feet.

"I appreciate that, Harls, really. But I can handle it" she stated, "This isn't something you want to get caught up in. Besides, if I'd let my personal issues stop me I would've been out of this job a long time ago"

Jessie was relieved to see the ends of her mouth twitch up in a grin. "You're sure?"

"Yeah" she affirmed "Give me some credit, I know how to flirt. I learned from you, didn't I?" she added, nudging Harley's arm good-naturedly.

At that, Harley's grin turned into a contempt frown. Jessie pursed her lips.

"Er, bad joke?" she asked sheepishly.

"Bad joke at a bad time" Harley corrected.

Jessie sighed. "Alright, look, after tonight I'll stop by and grab some ice cream and we'll have a movie night, get your mind off of it. Sound good?"

Harley cocked her head to the side interestedly, thinking it over. "As long as it's cookie dough" she compromised.

"Deal"

* * *

That night, Harley helped her pick out the right clothes and ended up choosing a short red satin top with a deep V-neck (that belonged to Jessie), ripped black shorts, and knee-high stiletto boots (both of which belonged to Harley). Jessie examined herself in the mirror several times, she's definitely going to catch Maroni's attention in this. It was amazing what a difference some effort could make. Jessie wasn't bad looking per say, she just wasn't Harley. Jessie was skinny with light olive complexion, dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Jessie unplugged Harley's curling iron and tossed her hair behind her shoulders, satisfied with the way it turned out. Harley walked into the bathroom and playfully scrunched up her hair.

"You clean up nicely" Harley complimented.

"Thanks" Jessie replied and walked towards her bedroom and Harley followed, leaning against the doorframe as Jessie picked up the little black purse on her bed.

"You be careful, got it?" Harley told her sternly.

Jessie walked over to her nightstand and took out her gun, the one she always kept in the top drawer of her nightstand by her bedside. She made sure the safety was on and slipped it into her purse.

"Always am" she said with a smirk, hanging the purse on her shoulder. Jessie hated not having her gun on her person, but it wasn't going to be possible with the outfit she was wearing. One little glimpse of the gun and her cover would be blown. Walking through the narrow hallway into the living room, she grabbed her jacket from the counter and put it on. "Don't worry, I won't forget the ice cream" she grinned.

"Knock 'em dead, gorgeous" Harley said as she locked the door behind her.

* * *

Jessie stood outside The Mist nightclub, the loud music was barely muffled by the doors. She zipped her leather jacket up to her chest and waited. It was ten o'clock already. Gordon should be here. Just as the thought crossed her mind, a dark car with tinted windows drove slowly by her and parked itself in the alley across the street.

"Not very subtle, lieutenant" she muttered, her heels clicking against the pavement as she crossed the street. Gordon was just stepping out of the car when she entered the alley and much to her surprise, so was someone from the passenger side of the car.

"Detective,"

"Lieutenant" Jessie greeted, glancing briefly at the guy who stepped out of the passenger side with a confused frown on her face. He was dressed casually in jeans, a t-shirt and hoodie. His brown hair was combed to the side and his green eyes watched her curiously. He looked older than her, though not by much.

"Detective Hargrove, this is Officer Thomas Murphy. Tommy, this is Jessica Hargrove" Gordon introduced.

"Nice to meet you" he said, outstretching his hand.

"Likewise" she replied uncertainly, shaking his hand. "I'm sorry, why is he here?" she asked in confusion

"With the way things are, I won't always be on hand for this task so I'm assigning Officer Murphy here to help you" he explained.

Jessie looked from one man to the other with raised eyebrows and scoffed. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't need a partner. I've done this before" she told him.

"Not with the Mob, you haven't" Gordon refuted, removing a small box from inside his jacket.

"Lieutenant, as a private investigator I've—"

"I agree to let you do this mission whichever way you see fit, in return I asked you to meet me halfway with a compromise" he interrupted.

Jessie opened her mouth to argue but quickly shut it, knowing Gordon was as stubborn as she was and wouldn't take no for an answer. She pursed her lips and nodded stiffly as he opened the small box in his hand to reveal three earpieces.

"Take these. If anything goes awry, we'll know" he said, as they each took one earpiece and placed it in their left ear.

"Let's just get this over with. I have a heartbroken roommate to take care of…"

"Alright Jessie, you'll go in first. Tommy, wait ten minutes and then go inside, we don't want to rouse suspicion. Stay on the far end of the club and keep an eye out for Maroni"

"Yes sir" Tommy nodded.

Jessie unzipped her jacket and draped it around her shoulders as she walked back across the street. With every step Jessie took the more she realized how much she preferred posing as a drug addict than, well, a glorified hooker. She stood outside the club for a moment, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

 _This should be nothing,_ she thought to herself.

She pushed open the heavy doors and flashed her fake ID to the bouncer (the only difference really was that it had her alias on it) and entered the club. The air conditioning hit her hard, giving her goosebumps on her skin, and she could already feel the music pulsing loudly in her veins. It was obvious why they called it The Mist, the fog machine made a thick layer on the floor making the whole room look misty. She moved through the crowd of people towards the bar and sat on one of the fancy cushioned stools, awkwardly tugging on one of the thin straps of her shirt.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Vodka cranberry, please" she replied in a falsely sweet voice, leaning against the counter.

 _"Jessie, can you hear me?"_ Gordon spoke into her earpiece.

"Yes" she said under her breath, pretending to yawn as she spoke and covered her mouth.

 _"Any sign of Maroni or the others?"_

"Not yet" she said as the bartender returned with her drink. She raised her glass in gratitude and smiled as the bartender went to help the other patrons. Jessie took a quick whiff from her glass before taking a sip. The smell of alcohol was always better than the mixed smell of sweat and cheap perfume that all nightclubs seemed to have. She turned around in her seat with her legs crossed and scanned the club. It was packed with exactly the kind of people one would expect in a place like this.

There were the sloppy drunks who danced precariously on tables, the burly security guard who either took his job too seriously or didn't give a single fuck about it, there was a rowdy group of guys in the corner and judging by the rolled up dollar on their table it wasn't hard to guess what they were doing, and of course the girls who were most likely drinking legally for the first time.

All these people, but no Maroni. She didn't even flit her eyes upward when Tommy entered the club. She squinted through all the flashing lights trying to find the Italian mobster.

Thirty-five minutes went by and Jessie was getting to the bottom of her drink when Tommy spoke into her earpiece.

 _"I see him. Your three o'clock, Miss. Hargrove"_

Bringing the glass to her lips, she stopped and looked out of the out of the corner of her eye, twitching her head only slightly to the right. Sure enough, Maroni was sitting on one of the red L shaped couches in the corner with two voluptuous blonde women around his arms to which Jessie couldn't help but wonder if his wife knew about. He looked exactly like the picture Gordon had given her; tall, broad-shouldered man with black and grey hair in his mid to late fifties.

Jessie downed what little was left of her drink and tossed her hair over one shoulder as she stood up, brushing her way around people. She walked around the area where Maroni was sitting, stroking his shoulder as she walked by. Maroni turned in confusion as Jessie gave him what she hoped was a convincing seductive smile and arched her eyebrows.

"Hi," she said flirtatiously.

Maroni raised an eyebrow, giving her an up-and-down look. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?"

"No, not really. I just can't keep my hands to myself sometimes" she replied sweetly, trailing her hand along his shoulders as she walked around the couch.

 _"Careful Jessie, don't overdo it"_ Gordon spoke into her earpiece, causing Jessie to bite her tongue in annoyance.

He didn't take his eyes off her as sat on the table in front of him. The women on either of Maroni scowled at her and moved closer against him territorially. However, she ignored them.

"Mind if I party with you?" she asked, stretching her legs out in front of her and crossed her ankles. Jessie cocked her head to one side, smiling expectantly as his eyes drifted to her legs and then back up to her face, examining her.

"Don't you have homework to do or something?" he scoffed. Jessie was taken aback by his rhetorical question but composed herself before it could show. Before she could come up with something to say, Maroni shook his head and smirked. "You're not my type, kiddo. Get lost" he said, pointing his chin up sharply.

"Oh come on, I'm fun girl" she said, leaning forward.

 _"Miss. Hargrove, forget it. He's not falling for it"_ Tommy spoke.

 _"He's right, Jessie. Abort the mission now"_ Gordon agreed.

Jessie pretended to scratch her ear and turned off her earpiece, she wasn't going to back out yet. Maroni's eyebrows twitched upward, he was interested if only for a moment but then waved his hand once. The burly security guard in the corner pushed himself off the wall and began to make his way over.

 _Shit,_ Jessie thought and slowly stood up. A strong hand came down on her shoulder as bumped into someone behind her as she was backing away.

"How do you always snag the beautiful women?"

Jessie turned around to see a tall black man in a black suit and receding hairline, judging by his build and demeanor he was clearly a bodyguard. It occurred to her that it wasn't him who spoke, but the man behind him who seemed to be his boss. Another black man in a navy blue suit; he was taller than the one holding her arm, with broad square shoulders and a chest that stuck out, a full head of hair, diamond studs in his ears, and a neatly shaped goatee around his mouth.

While it was obvious that Maroni was the kind of man that preferred to use brute force or a bullet to make a point. Just by his demeanor it was obvious he preferred to use his fists to teach someone a lesson or bash someone's skull if they even looked at him the wrong way. While both men commanded attention when they entered a room in their own way, his was a bit more intimidating than Maroni's.

Before Jessie could wonder why a man with such a commanding presence could ever need a bodyguard she realized this was the other mobster.

Gambol.

She straightened up and relaxed her shoulders, pretending to check him out. "Oh, who's your friend?" she asked the bodyguard.

Jessie turned around but the bodyguard didn't loosen his grip on her arm, but Gambol patted his shoulder. "It's alright, Chuck" he said, letting his bodyguard aside and raised his head to look at her then glanced at Maroni.

"Maroni, we got a dude over in the corner that's watching us. Think he might be a cop" Gambol said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

Jessie's gaze went to where he was pointing and felt her chest tighten. He was pointing at Tommy.

Not good. She had to think of something fast.

"Oh, he's been watching me ever since I walked in here. The guy just won't take his eyes off me!" she exaggerated, bringing Gambol and Maroni's attention back to her. Gambol glanced at his bodyguard who shrugged as if to say _he did start watching us when she got here…_

Gambol turned his attention back to Jessie, giving her a once over. There was interest and suspicion in his eyes at the same time, but she ignored the latter and stepped closer so that they were only a foot apart, lightly running her hand up his arm. "So...you got a name, handsome?"

He was quiet for a long time until she noticed the ends of his mouth twitch. "Gambol" he smirked.

"Gambol…ooh, I like that name" she said, moving her hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck. His eyes darted from her lips to her chest which was showing a generous amount of cleavage. She pursed her lips, contemplating if he'd be easier to seduce than Maroni.

"Never seen you here before, kid. What're you doin' in my club?" Maroni asked sharply behind her.

"I'm new, just moved here and was browsing around for a good nightclub" she explained, looking over her shoulder at him. "You know, trying to make new friends…" she added to Gambol, whose eyes went up to meet hers. "What do you say, handsome? Want to be friends?" she said, keeping one hand behind his neck and the other on his chest and felt his on the small of her back. Some of her muscles tensed as he pulled her closer, but she had him hooked in.

He was quiet and she could feel Maroni's eyes watching them. "You don't know who we are do you, sweetheart?" Gambol stated and Maroni made a noise behind her.

She widened her eyes. "Should I?" she asked innocently, glancing from Maroni to Gambol curiously.

"We're dangerous men" Gambol said shortly, as if they worked boring nine to five jobs.

"Oh? Maybe I like danger" she remarked interestedly, but with a hint of surprise.

"A nice kid like you wouldn't want to get messed up with us" Gambol told her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him move his hand up to push a lock of hair behind her ear. He'd see the earpiece!

Jessie quickly intertwined her fingers with his, casually and slowly bringing his hand away from her face. She felt her heart thud rapidly in her chest. Just to distract him a little further, she reached up to his mouth as if she was going to kiss him, Gambol raised his eyebrows and waited for her lips to meet his. "I'll take a gamble" she whispered on his lips and pulled away to see his surprised expression.

The ends of his mouth twitched into grin. "That's cute" he chuckled.

"And I'm not a kid, handsome" she added cheekily, patting his chest and moving her hands away. Jessie looked over his shoulder to see Tommy subtly tapping the watch on his wrist. "Sorry, guess I overstayed my welcome" she said and began to walk away when Gambol grabbed her wrist.

"I didn't catch your name" he said.

Jessie pursed her lips in a smirk; he was in her palm now. She turned her head and smiled. "Guess you'll have to catch it the next time you see me" she winked, letting her hand brush off his. "Gentlemen…" she nodded good-bye and walked away.

Jessie took a deep breath once she was far enough, leaving the club and crossed the street to meet Gordon. The lieutenant stepped out of the car as soon as she entered the alley.

"Jessie, what the hell happened in there?!" Gordon demanded.

"A little extra time got me right where I needed to be" she replied.

"I said to abort the mission" he said harshly.

"And I managed to catch the interest of one of the mobsters" Jessie argued.

Gordon opened his mouth when he raised his head and looked over her shoulder. She turned around to see Tommy walking out of the club, she sighed and put her hands on her hips as he joined them.

"Nice job, you almost blew our cover. Gambol and Maroni saw you watching them" Jessie told him.

"Gambol?" Gordon asked in surprise.

"Yeah, he was in there" she replied, turning back to him. "I'm gonna work him instead. Apparently I'm not Maroni's type" she said.

Gordon sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I told you to abort the mission, what if something happened in there"

"I'm always prepared" Jessie confronted impatiently, patting her purse.

"So what now?" Tommy asked.

Jessie turned to him. "You are not going to anything. Things would've turned really ugly if they found out you were a cop, this is why I work alone" she snapped.

"We had a deal, detective. Otherwise this mission is over" Gordon warned.

Jessie stared coldly at him. She already started, she couldn't back out now, not when she caught Gambol's eye. She sighed heavily. "Fine," she said begrudgingly, and turned back to Tommy. "But I can't afford to have Gambol getting suspicious. If you could stay in the car until I give a signal or say otherwise"

"I can do that" Tommy agreed almost immediately.

Jessie blinked, surprised he was so quick to comply. Both of them looked to Gordon, who sighed heavily again.

"Alright, so what now?" Gordon asked her.

"Well, we know Gambol spends some time here at Maroni's club. I'll come back in another or two day. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling from there" she planned, pushing her hair out from behind as she zipped up her jacket.

Gordon furrowed his eyebrows. "I'll go with whatever you think is right, but if things get too dangerous this mission is over"

"Fair enough" she nodded.

"Good, so we're done for tonight" Gordon told them. "Do you need a ride home, Miss. Hargrove?"

"No. I appreciate it, but there's something I have to do" she said before they parted ways.

* * *

Being out alone at night was probably the worst thing one could do in Gotham city. Even with the Batman around, crime wasn't exactly at an all-time low and it didn't help that some Arkham inmates were still loose. But as long as Jessie had her gun, she'd be okay.

Gotham's streets were always abuzz with activity as soon as the sun went down. The street down from her apartment complex was proof of that. Soon teenagers were spray-painting graffiti in an alley she passed by. Vendors who smiled forcibly at every person who they thought would approach their stand.

As she came up to the twenty-four hour convenience store, a group of prostitutes were hanging outside taking long drags of their cigarettes as she walked past. Jessie didn't look twice at them and entered the store, briefly glancing at the sleepy-looking cashier.

There wasn't a hesitation in her step as she walked through the liquor section and grabbed the cheapest wine bottle they had, some sugar, and then made her way to the frozen section. Her eyes scanned lazily through the frosted glass until she finally opened one of the freezers and took out a carton of ice cream, smiling.

"Always cookie dough" she murmured and made her way over to the register.

* * *

 **This chapter went through a lot of rewrites, but I hope it's not too choppy or boring. It might seem like an uneventful chapter but it's being set up for things to come ;)**

 **Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you Guest for reviewing and to those who faved/followed!**

* * *

Papers were strewn across the coffee table, a cup of lukewarm coffee sat abandoned on the counter, and the TV droned on in the background just loud enough so that it could only be heard in the living room. The TV was just for background noise, it helped her think when she paced back and forth in their tiny living room.

Which was exactly what Jessie was doing. One arm crossed under her bust and her other hand was in a fist, pressed under her chin in deep thought as she continued to amble the length of her living room.

Occasionally she glanced up at the TV to see what was happening in Gotham city; the overly cheerful weatherman was all too eager to talk about the heavy rain they were expecting, a tedious discussion about stock growth for Wayne Enterprises, a car crash on the bridge, and something about a missing bus driver whose body was found near the river. Overall, nothing out of the ordinary for Gotham.

She never paid attention to any of it for very long. Her newest client had her really conflicted about whether or not she wanted to take on his case. Jessie was contemplating so deeply about it that she didn't notice an annoyed Harley staring at her from the hallway.

"Jess, it's seven in the morning and I can hear you pacing from my room. What're you even doing?" she grumbled sleepily, staring at the papers spread across the coffee table and scratched her messy hair which was pulled up in a tight bun.

"I just got back from meeting a new client" she replied half-distractedly.

Harley leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and lingered there quietly, obviously unsure if this was one of those times where she could ask questions. Jessie chewed on her bottom lip for a second and rubbed her thumb and index finger together pensively, wondering the same thing. Deciding this time that it wouldn't hurt, she grabbed the yellow folder off the sofa.

"Henry Williams, fifty years old, lives in the suburbs outside Gotham. He and his wife are looking for their missing daughter, Katie, who ran away with her abusive boyfriend, Dean Broderick, two and half years ago. He said she stole, maybe, three hundred dollars from him before she ran off" she explained as though she had everything memorized, removing the pictures of the daughter and her partner from the folder and showed them to Harley.

A strawberry blonde-haired young woman with green eyes, and a young man with bronze hair and blue eyes. Both somewhere in their twenties.

Harley raised both eyebrows as she looked from the photos of the couple and then back to her. "You'd barely survive in the _Narrows_ with three hundred dollars" she pointed out.

"I know. He thinks Katie might've resorted to prostitution to make ends meet, can't say I disagree with him" Jessie stated almost boringly, throwing herself down on the lumpy sofa.

Harley made a face. "Why did he wait two and half years before deciding to look for her?" she inquired almost delicately as if still unsure if she should be asking questions and put the pictures down next to her before walking into the kitchen.

"Apparently she's ran away before and always came back, not this time though" Jessie answered, throwing her arm behind her head and watched as Harley yawned and went to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee.

"Has he gone to the police?" Harley asked, leaning over the counter as the water boiled.

"Yeah. If she was a minor it'd make a difference, but she's twenty-four—his words, not mine" she added nonchalantly.

"And you don't want to take this case because…?"

Jessie sighed deeply and stared at the popcorn ceiling. "I don't mean to be crass, but she's either at the bottom of the river or some crack house in the Narrows with a needle in her arm. I'd just be wasting my time" she told her, folding her arms over her chest.

She gave her a look. "Well aren't you sunshine and daisies this morning" she said sarcastically, pouring hot coffee into two mugs.

"Harley, I'm just trying to be realistic here. It's not like I _want_ the girl to be dead" she pointed out.

"Then why not take his case?" she suggested, taking both mugs and plopping down next to her. She placed Jessie's cup on the table and held hers between her hands.

"Harley, these kinds of people…if they're not dead, they don't want help. Trust me, I know" she replied, a little harshly than she intended.

Harley leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs, staring as though she was reading Jessie and then brought her mug to her lips, noisily drinking from it but not before Jessie saw her purse her lips hesitantly as if she wanted to say something.

"What?" she asked sternly, resting her cheek in her hand.

Harley pulled the mug away from her mouth and held her tongue between her lips and inhaled deeply. "You knew this girl, didn't you?" she claimed. Jessie stared at her and raised both eyebrows but before she could open her mouth, Harley went on to say "Don't lie to me. You never turn down a missing person's case, you were pulling all-nighters when you had to look for that missing district attorney last year even when everyone knew he was dead" she said sharply.

Jessie looked away, exhaling through her nose as she picked up her mug from the table, cursing the world for being small. What were the chances that Katie—of all people, _Katie Williams,_ would be in Gotham City?

She took a sip from her mug, frowning slightly at the bitter taste and then sighed deeply.

"I didn't know her long. Six months maybe? Give or take. _Way_ before I came to Gotham" she admitted, tracing her finger along the rim of the cup.

"A friend of yours?"

"I don't have friends, Harley. Except you" she said, giving her a pointed look and Harley smiled smugly. "No, she and I were acquainted. There was a group of us at one point, we were on the lam for a while. Katie started up some trouble and the rest of us paid for it. Never saw her after that" she paraphrased shortly, staring into her coffee hauntingly as she remembered.

"Sweetie, I think you're making this more complicated than it is" Harley finally said after a while.

"Meaning?" she inquired dryly, not looking at her as she was bringing the mug to her mouth.

"You're not spiteful. You're not taking this case because you don't want to, I think you're jealous of her" she replied delicately, giving her a sympathetic look.

The cup was halfway to her lips when Jessie paused, pursing her lips in a tight angry line. She stared at Harley in disbelief, feeling as though she punched her in the gut. Her reaction didn't seem to faze her though, she just sat there calmly as if she was at her office and Jessie was nothing more than a difficult patient.

They were discussing a missing woman who might possibly be dead and Harley somehow thought it was about Jessie. The worst was that a part of her, deep down, felt like she might've had a point. But hell would freeze over before she ever admitted it. Putting down her coffee, she gathered all the papers on table in her arms and stood up.

"I didn't ask for your therapy, Harley" she huffed in hostility and stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Harley and Jessie didn't speak to each other the rest of the day. Mostly because Jessie was in and out of the apartment all day and Harley knew better than to bother her when she's busy and knew it was better to give her space after what happened that morning.

That evening she left to meet with Lieutenant Gordon and Officer Murphy. Unfortunately, Gordon was dealing with the dead bus driver that was found by the river, so it was just her and Tommy. She was sitting in the car with him across _The Mist_ nightclub, waiting for Gambol to arrive. This time she was wearing a white lace up bandeau with bright red pants and high heels.

They sat in silence, the only noise that could be heard was the light drizzle of rain hitting the windshield.

"So how long have you been in Gotham?" Tommy asked, breaking the silence.

She didn't answer.

"Lieutenant Gordon told me you're not from around here; that you move around a lot. This the longest you been in one place?" he asked conversationally.

Again she didn't say anything, just stared out the windshield at the fluorescent club logo and Tommy eventually sighed and did the same.

"Nice trees…" he said in a dry sarcastic tone.

She rolled her eyes. "You know, _you're_ the one making this awkward" she finally told him matter-of-factly, raising her head when she saw Gambol enter through the front door of the club, followed closely by his goons. The bouncer standing in front of the doors gave a stiff nod and let him pass as if he was the mayor.

"Look, I just thought I'd get to know you better since we'll be doing this for a while" he explained to her.

Jessie opened the car door. "Don't hold your breath" she muttered sarcastically, tossing her coat in the backseat and stepped out with her purse and umbrella. Goosebumps formed across her abdomen and she felt eyes watching her as she walked down the street towards the club. She felt like there was a neon over her head as she approached the bouncer.

He squinted his eyes as if he was trying to remember her. Was it suspicious she was coming two days in a row? When she pulled out her I.D he looked at it longer than he did last time then back to her face, almost as if he was evaluating if she was there to drink and have fun or cause trouble.

Jessie's expression remained neutral as he stared at her. They didn't have a reason to suspect her as long as she stuck to her story; she was a fresh face in town, a Gotham University student looking for a little fun.

The bouncer eventually let her pass and she entered the club, folding her umbrella and stuffing it in her purse on top of her gun. She scanned through the crowd of drunk and high people, looking for Gambol. Eventually her eyes landed on him, he was sitting at the bar talking with Sal Maroni. She maneuvered around people, bumping into several sweaty bodies. Maroni's eyes landed on her first and leaned back in his chair as she approached behind Gambol.

She reached around Gambol, grabbing the shot glass he had next to his hand and brought it to her mouth, thinking he was the kind of guy who liked an audacious woman.

"What the hell—" Gambol swiveled around angrily, only to have his anger turn into surprise when he saw her. He looked her over and his eyebrows raised.

Jessie swallowed the alcohol and put the shot glass down on the napkin, smiling and leaning on her arm as she rested it on the counter.

"Well, are you just gonna sit there and stare? Or you gonna buy me another one" she smirked flirtatiously.

The end of his mouth twitched into a tight-lipped grin and chuckled in his throat, as if she was a completely different person from the other day. He also seemed to be admiring the amount of skin she was showing.

"You got guts, you know that? Anyone else grab my drink the way you did I'd make them swallow their teeth" Gambol told her, tapping the glass with his finger. His grin dropped a little as if warning her not to pull a stunt like that again.

She felt her heart thud a little harder against her chest, but ultimately pretended not to acknowledge his warning and sat in the open chair next to him, smiling deviously.

"Does that mean you _like_ me?" she asked in a sickly-sweet voice like an excited girl who received an ambiguous gift from her crush.

Gambol stared at her with an unreadable expression and then looked over his shoulder at Maroni as if he was suddenly given an ultimatum, then spoke to him while looking at her.

"Maroni, we'll discuss business later" he said, resting an arm on the back of her chair.

Maroni knit his eyebrows together, watching her like a hawk but eventually grabbed his beer and stood up. Gambol gestured to the bartender and ordered two drinks. As Maroni walked by her, she saw a glint of a gun under his suit jacket.

Maybe time just moved very slowly in that moment, but she felt like Maroni had stopped for a split-second next to her to flash the gun. Or maybe it was just by accident as he was walking by. Either way, her eyes went up to look at his face, clutching her purse tightly in her lap and instinctively sliding one hand inside of it. The cool steel of the gun felt nice against her fingers, but she hardly thought about it as she held her breath and waited for him to pull it out on her.

But he didn't.

Maroni walked right on by without meeting her eyes as he did before. She pursed her parted lips as she watched him climb the steps to the second floor of the club. Maybe he did flash his gun unknowingly. A very odd chill crept up her spine, except it wasn't because of fear.

"So, where were we?" Gambol said, bringing her attention back.

She turned back, zipping her purse shut and smiling. "I don't know, where'd we leave off?" she asked as the bartender set her drink in front of her.

Gambol took his glass in his hand. "If I remember correctly, you said you'd tell me your name the next time we saw each other" he said, moving his hand around slowly so that the contents in his glass stirred.

"Aw, but it's so much more fun to keep you guessing" she pouted.

As she was reaching for her drink, Gambol gently put a hand on her glass and pulled it away. "As much as I love games, I'm not known for being a patient man" he said coolly

Jessie pretended to stare at him interestedly, running a finger slowly over her bottom lip. The sticky gloss sticking her fingertip as Gambol watched her motion and waited. Of course she'd be an idiot if she didn't come up with a fake name to go along with her story. It was the first rule of undercover investigating and god knows she has plenty of them.

"It's Candy" she finally said,

Gambol's eyebrows quirked up. Whatever name he had in his head it certainly wasn't that. "Candy…" he repeated questionably.

"Yep" she replied, popping the _p_ and eyed her drink. "So did I win my drink back?" she asked in a casual yet sultry tone.

Seeming satisfied, he pushed the drink back to her. Gambol watched as she took a sip. "So where did you say you were from?" he asked, rubbing his thumb against the side of his index finger.

"I didn't" she responded, turning towards the counter and leaned against it with her arms crossed. "I sort of go where the wind takes me. Thought it was time to stop doing that and I moved here and started going to Gotham University"

"Really…" he said slowly, sliding his hand on top of her wrist and placed a little pressure on it. "Because I have a guy in Gotham U. He's never seen you before"

Her hand twitched under his, but he didn't tighten his hold because he was already putting enough pressure to keep her from moving it away. She didn't tense under his hand either, that would've definitely given her away. Gambol didn't take his off her and she figured he wouldn't until she gave an answer. It was then she realized that he had his goons scattered all over the club. They were the only ones not enjoying the amenities of the club, but standing around and occasionally looking towards their boss. It was as if Gambol was expecting her to book it after what he found out.

No.

She wasn't going to run because she wasn't fazed in the least. They might've caught her in a lie, but they still didn't know who she was or that she was helping the cops. If they did then they wouldn't have to go through all this trouble. It would've been easier to lead her in a secluded location and put a bullet in the back of her head then dump her in the river. But they weren't doing that. Besides, she had a backup plan in case something like this happened.

She sighed resignedly and gazed at Gambol whose cold eyes glared at her as he waited for her to speak, maybe expecting her babble in order to cover for herself.

"Alright you caught me, handsome" she said, remaining as cool as a cucumber and slowly sliding her hand out from underneath his. He let her, but still kept his arm on the back of her chair so that she was trapped between his arm and the counter. Jessie turned in her chair and rested her chin on her fist, facing him. "I don't go to Gotham U. Hell, I'm not even a student" she admitted.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked coldly. Yet, he seemed intrigued by how calm she was.

And why shouldn't she be? Candy had nothing to hide.

"I work the nights, if you catch my drift" she told him, quirking her eyebrows knowingly.

Gambol slowly raised his chin and dropped the arm he had on the back of her chair on his leg, leaning back in his seat disappointedly. "You're a hooker" he sighed.

"Ah," she stopped, pressing a finger on his lips as the last syllable left his mouth. "Escort, handsome. High-class escort" she corrected.

"Escort, huh?"

"Yeah," she said simply with a shrug of her shoulder. "You know, I get paid to be wine and dined by you, be your arm candy for the evening, and at the end of the night…I give you what you wanted from the beginning" she whispered suggestively, bringing her drink to her lips.

"Why lie to me?" he asked seriously, picking up his own glass.

"You seem like the kind of guy that likes a smart girl. So, I pretended to be a smart girl. Truth be told, I've never been to college, didn't finish high school either" she admitted, as soon as she said it she began to wonder if she was laying on the lie pretty thick.

Gambol watched her and breathed deeply. "How do I know you're not a cop?" he said, picking up his own glass.

She might've been _like_ a cop, but she wasn't a literal one. The short answer was no, but she had a feeling that simple denial wouldn't be enough to satisfy him. Was there a way to draw his attention away from the question?

Then a quick idea popped into her head and she put a hand on his shoulder, trailing it down to his chest.

"Oh, I can be a cop if _that's_ what you're into" she whispered, tracing her fingers along his tie. His eyes watching her fingers. "But if you're not interested in me, I guess I'll get out of your hair" she said, fixing his tie quickly and hopped off the chair, but Gambol blocked her with his arm as she was turning away.

"I never said that" he answered quietly, nodding his head once politely (in his own way) for her to take a seat and finish her drink.

Jessie smiled to herself triumphantly as she sat back down, keeping her purse on her lap as always. He put his hand on the small of her bare back, making her flinch a little but he didn't seem to notice.

"So, what brings you all the way to this nightclub?" Gambol asked curiously, ordering another round of drinks.

"Oh nothing, I was only looking for someone more exciting than another suit from the financial sect" she replied as the bartender pushed another round of drinks towards them.

Gambol was quiet for a moment as if he was considering her answer. He stared at the alcohol in his glass as if he was expecting to find a bug in it or something. "You really don't know who we are, do you?" he finally said, taking a drink from his glass.

"You asked me that same thing last time" she pointed out, bringing her glass to her.

Gambol put an arm around her shoulders. "We're dangerous men" he told her, bringing his drink to his mouth. He said it as though he was expecting her to run out screaming.

"You and the other guy said that last time too. What was his name again, uh…Macaroni?" she asked uncertainly.

Gambol snorted in his drink, choking slightly and pounded a fist on his chest and coughed. "His name's Maroni" he corrected after he managing to clear his airway and Jessie grinned slyly into her glass. A joke, good or bad, always works in favor. "Man, don't tell him you said that" he added

Jessie leaned closer to him. "Let's make it our little secret" she suggested, tapping her finger on the bridge of his nose. Jessie made a mental note to thank Harley for her pointers on flirting later when she noticed Gambol leer (albeit uncomfortably) when she said that.

"That's fine with me, girl" he said huskily, pulling her in closer.

Jessie laughed girlishly and ran her fingers against his hand on her shoulder. "So you gonna tell me what makes you so _dangerous_?" she sweet-talked.

For a moment Jessie thought he was going to lean in for a kiss, but instead he spoke. "Mobster" he informed nonchalantly "You want to run now?"

He was smart, she'll give him that much. Any sane, self-respecting woman would go running after hearing him confess something like that. Even if she was playing the role of a glorified hooker, not being scared at all would come off as suspicious. There needed to be a balance between shock and indifference.

Jessie raised both of her eyebrows high. "Oh" she said offhandedly, pretending to let this new information sink in and awkwardly pulled away.

Gambol pulled his arm away from around her shoulders as she leaned against the counter with her arms crossed. "Well, you want to run yet?" he repeated, waiting as though he was expecting her to take off running.

She pretended to swallow. "That depends, are you planning to throw me in the river?" she asked innocently, swiveling her head around to him.

He leaned closer, whispering in her ear. "Not unless you have something to hide"

Jessie chewed on her bottom lip, smiling. "Then I guess I'm staying"

He chuckled softly, putting a hand on her leg. "Good. So, why don't we take this back to my place? I'll pay you handsomely"

She was so close to grimacing she had to sip from her glass in order to cover it, pretending it was the alcohol burning her mouth. Jessie scrunched up her face and cleared her throat before turning to wrap her hands behind his neck.

"Just like that, huh? No romance, no wine and dining?" she pouted.

"Escort? Hooker? Doesn't matter, you're both doing the same thing" Gambol said in a boring sarcastic tone.

"I guess you're right but I have a special way of doing things. There's an old saying that the hungrier one is, the better the meal" she told him. Gambol frowned in confusion as he waited for her to explain what that meant. "I'm good at what I do because the longer a man can wait, the better the sex. So, what'd you say, handsome? Think you're up for the challenge" she whispered.

Men always loved a challenge.

Gambol raised his chin and breathed deeply and audibly as he was mulling it over. There's no way he'd turn down a challenge like that, he was too proud and Jessie knew it. His ego wouldn't allow it. "I like what you're selling. Alright sweetheart, I'll humor you" he finally said.

"I'm glad to hear you say that" she smiled widely, taking a pen out of her purse and scribbled a phone number on a napkin. She stood up, lowering her head and very lightly brushed her lips against his, slipping the torn napkin in his hand. Gambol gave her a devilish smile as she pulled away. If he wasn't a criminal, Jessie might've found him attractive.

"Call me" she told him, then gathered her purse, winked, and disappeared into the crowd of people. Once she was outside she pulled out her umbrella and swiped at her lips before walking down the street.

Instead walking straight towards the car where she knew Tommy was waiting, she took a detour. Going this way and that, looking over her shoulder now and again in case she was being followed. Gambol might not be having someone follow her, but Maroni certainly might. He was suspicious of her, she knew it. That look on his face made it obvious, she needed to be careful or else she'd find herself at the bottom of the river with a bullet in her back.

She walked past a prostitute that leaning into a window of a car. As she was passing she heard the man sitting inside mumble nervously "How much?"

Jessie almost came to a complete halt when she remembered there was someone she needed to do before going back home. Her head turned several times at all the little shops and restaurants, it was past midnight so they were all closed. Until her eyes landed on the fast food burger joint adjacent to her. The lights were on so they must've been open twenty-four hours.

Without hesitating she headed towards it. When she entered, the smell of burned meat and fries hit her nose hard. It was mostly empty except for the one person who looked to be high was sitting in the far corner with an untouched meal. She approached the counter and earned a judgmental scowl from the cashier behind the counter. It was only then she became all too aware of what she was wearing. Yeah, she probably looked like she came in from working the street even though she likely had on more clothing than most of the hookers in the city. Still, she probably shouldn't have left her coat in the car.

Jessie ordered a double cheeseburger and some fries, handing the cashier the money and they disappeared into the back to make the food.

The night was eerily quiet. It's been like that ever since the Batman showed up a year ago and put Carmine Falcone out of power, now he was locked up in Arkham. With Batman cleaning up Gotham the way he was, she might be out of a job soon. She'd either have to move to a new city or find another job. An image of her in a brightly colored apron and paper hat flashed through her mind. She rolled her eyes in amusement. _Like hell…_ she thought.

Jessie waited maybe five minutes until her order was finally ready and left the joint, heading back the way she came once she was sure no one was following her. She eventually made it back to the car, Tommy still sitting in the driver's side with the seat reclined. When she opened the door, Tommy jumped up in a sitting position.

"Damn it, you scared the shit out of me" he exclaimed, fixing the seat. "I was about to go look for you"

"Sorry, had to make sure I wasn't being followed" she replied, setting her purse between her feet. He looked at the bag of food questionably. "Listen, I need a favor" she said.

* * *

"And exactly, what business do you have in the Narrows?" Tommy inquired as he slowly drove the car over the bridge until they finally entered the slums of Gotham.

"A work colleague. I need some help for a new assignment" she explained vaguely, massaging her ankles as Tommy drove deeper in. She made a mental note to bring her tennis shoes next time. She didn't mind heels, but walking around in six inch ones for half the night was a torture method on its own. Staring out the windshield, she strapped her heels back on as the road dipped and they were in an open cul-de-sac with homeless folk scattered everywhere.

Several raised their heads to look at the Honda Civic that had entered their area. Some stared curiously while others went back to warming their hands over the fiery garbage bins which happened to be the only source of light in the area. There was litter everywhere, newspapers crumpled all over the pavement, worn sleeping bags thrown against the wall.

She heard Tommy inhale sharply. Maybe he wasn't used to seeing so many homeless people in one place. Not Jessie though, she's seen her fair share of things; runaways, druggies, hookers, muggers…

So much so that their presence didn't faze her as much as they used to.

The people all had some form of dirt on their face and wore layers of dirty clothing. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that a lot of them had some kind of weapon; a knife or maybe a broken beer bottle. That was fine. They had their weapon, she had hers.

"Are you sure your colleague is around here?" Tommy asked skeptically.

Jessie secured her gun against her waist and pulled on her trench coat, hiding the food bag underneath as she tied the sash. "He's always here" she responded and stepped out of the car, her heels clicked annoyingly loud against the uneven pavement as she approached them. The whole place smelled like garbage and urine, making her nostrils flare. Some things she'll never get used to.

A group of them saw her and trotted over, some with their hands cupped out to her.

"I'm looking for Greg" she told them casually.

They almost immediately began to murmur. "Greg? Greg's not here" a man to her right said. Half his face was covered in facial hair, his mouth wasn't even visible.

She turned her head to look at him and narrowed her eyes. "He's always here"

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I'll tell ya if you take off that coat" he said. For a moment she thought he smelled the food from under her jacket, but when she saw his tongue stick out lecherously through all that facial hair she knew that wasn't it.

Before she could snap at him, he took two steps forward and saw he had a belt wrapped around his hand, the metal buckle dangled loosely, her hand immediately landed on her gun. The group closed in and she thought she'd have to fight them off for sure until a familiar voice spoke from behind the crowd.

"Alright that's enough. All of ya, fuck off or I'll have you locked up in Arkham for so long your grandchildren won't live to see the light" a gruff angry voice threatened.

The crowd parted as a short, stout man shuffled up to her. The hairs on his brown and grey beard were pointing in all directions as if he'd been electrocuted. He wore fingerless gloves, a brown hat and holey jacket that both looked like they'd been chewed on by rats. He looked up at her, smiling with all six of his stained teeth. His skin was covered with so much dirt and black marks, Jessie barely recognized him.

"I won't say it again, fuck off!" he snapped.

The crowd gave Jessie a disgusted look but finally dispersed. She took her hand off her gun, looked down and gave him a half-smile. "'Locked up in Arkham'?" she quoted amusingly, "That's some threat, Greg. Can you follow up on it?"

"Eh, for all they know, I can" he waved off sarcastically and gave another wide smile. "Been a long time, Miss. Jessie. Dangerous for you to come down 'ere, especially with some o' those Arkham loonies still runnin' around"

"Well, I got a job I need help with, not gonna wait until morning just because of a couple nutjobs. Besides, I have a temporary partner" she replied sarcastically, jerking her thumb behind her. Jessie looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see Tommy standing outside the car with knit eyebrows and one hand on his gun holster.

Greg chuckled dryly. "What can I do you for?"

"Oh, she can do me for free!" a man shouted not too far from them.

However, they both promptly ignored him. They walked towards Greg's own fire so they could talk more privately. She gestured to Tommy to give her five minutes and wait by the car. The smell around them might've been horrible but the warmth from the fire was nice. As Greg warmed his hands over the fire, Jessie removed the bag of food from her coat. Grease splotches from the burger coated the bag. He took it from her outstretched hand and looked inside, smacking his lips hungrily. She reached into her pocket and took out two rolled up twenties in her palm, holding it up for only him to see.

"I need you to find someone. Rather, two people actually" she told him.

Greg raised an eyebrow. "I can do that. Ya got a picture or somethin'?" he asked

She reached into her other pocket and took out a single piece of paper with a copy of the two photos she was given from her client. "Katie Williams and Dean Broderick, ran away over a year ago. From what I'm told, the guy's an abusive asshole. The girl's parents think she ended up here in Gotham, might've started hooking. Thought the Narrows was a good place to start looking"

Greg took the paper from her hand and turned it around, staring at the picture. "Cute girl. Haven't seen either o' them though, I'll keep an eye out, ask around" he told her and took the forty bucks she handed.

"If you get any information, I'm pay you another fifty. You have my number" she said

"Only problem is findin' a workin' payphone" he laughed gruffly and then frowned curiously before standing on the balls of his feet to meet her eyes. Jessie raised both eyebrows in surprise as he stared intently at her face. "Well how 'bout that? Don't think I've seen a sparkle in your eye since eight months ago. New job?"

Suddenly she remembered the odd chill she felt when she saw Maroni's gun. Thrill.

What she felt was thrill, even if it was for a minute. The thrill and excitement of going undercover and getting away with it was enough to get off on, like an addict. That's why some people cheat on their spouse, for the thrill. It's been a long time since she felt like that. There was a good amount of fear that went into her line of work too, of course. She wasn't a reckless thrill seeker, but she wouldn't deny there something a little fun about her job.

She looked away and chuckled lightly. "Never a dull moment in the criminal underworld" she admitted.

He scratched his scraggly beard. "Well, ain't that excitin'?" he remarked and held up the piece of paper in his hand. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for these two. How soon do ya need information by?" he added.

"As soon as possible" she requested with a thankful nod and turned on her heel back towards the car.

"Hey, uh, Miss. Jessie?" Greg called, making her stop and turn around as he jammed his hands in his pockets. "Best watch yourself with all this criminal underworld business. Heard somethin' 'bout a crazy clown running amok. You be careful, ya hear?"

Of course she's heard the rumors. Whispers about a guy who wears makeup to scare people or maybe he just enjoyed being theatrical, calls himself the Joker. Only thing she knew for sure was that he was wanted for armed robbery and double homicide. Yeah, she's heard of him.

Jessie gave Greg a smile and pulled away the lapel of her coat to show the gun tucked at her hip. "Always am" she assured and walked back to the car.

Tommy didn't ask any questions even though it was obvious he wanted to and drove her back to her apartment. Jessie stared out the window as streetlight flashed by, resting her cheek on her knuckles.

 _The Joker, huh…_ she thought curiously.

People said he was a menace, but that he was smart and crazy too. Of course, those were only rumors and rumors tend to be exaggerated. The media didn't give him a lot of attention and she wondered if it was because the police were trying to keep it all under wraps or maybe he wasn't as dangerous as people were saying. The police had more things to worry about than some guy with a clown persona. They take down the Mob and Gotham would be a little safer, less corrupt. The police will catch up with him eventually, he was just one guy.

Then again, so was the Batman and he managed to throw Carmine Falcone out of power.

Jessie furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Should she ask Gordon about it? Maybe he'd know something. With the way people talked about him, maybe he was worth looking into. As she was reaching for cell phone she stopped.

No.

She already had enough on her plate as it was, she didn't need to add more. Besides, Maroni might've had some people in the police force but she trusted Gordon, and that was saying a lot coming from her. If the Joker was as dangerous as they say, Gordon would let her know. Not to mention Commissioner Loeb who would at least inform the public to be on the lookout. The Joker wasn't a mobster, just a low crazy criminal, no better than the ones locked up in Arkham. He wasn't a threat, not a big one at least.

Little did she know just how wrong she was.

* * *

 **Okay so so we got some mention of our favorite clown ;). Side note, cringey fake flirting is over for now xD.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

They weren't friends.

No, they were just a group of kids on the run, trying to get by on the streets. It was her, Katie, Liam, and Chris. All of them agreed that they'd do whatever it takes not to go back to _that_ hellhole.

Jessie was fourteen, living in Minnesota.

This particular day they were hanging out on the rooftop of a sleazy motel after Liam stole a handful of complimentary soap bars and shampoo bottles from the cart of some sleep-deprived maid while she was cleaning out a room. Chris was particularly good at picking locks and managed to get them inside one of the rooms where they took turns showering while the others kept watch. Not that the shower made much of a difference after they put on the same dirty clothes. But it's not like they could get new ones from the little change they got from good people either.

But still, a shower was a shower.

Now they were on the rooftop, wondering what to do and where to go next. Chris was standing on the ledge, staring out at the little town. Liam was on his back, staring at the sky. Katie was sitting next to her and pulled out a pack of Malboros from her worn backpack and took out two cigarettes. Jessie tried not to scowl at she stared at her judgmentally. Instead of using what little change they had to buy cigarettes, it would've been more useful to buy some food; no matter how small. Katie then held out one stick to her, catching her glare down at it.

"Don't be a pussy" Katie chastised, assuming she was cautious about smoking (which might've been partly true) and then shoved it in her hand before taking out a lighter.

Jessie sighed but didn't say anything as she reluctantly twirled the cigarette between her fingers after Katie lit it. Well, if they were going to die on the streets anyway, might as well enjoy what they can get. She pressed the other end to her mouth, inhaled, and almost immediately started coughing. It was the most disgusting thing she ever tasted.

"You'll get used to it" Katie exhaled, snickering at her as she blew smoke in the air like she's done it several times and pushed her strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulder.

"So, what now?" Liam asked from where he was lying down.

Chris put his hands on his hips and turned from where he was standing on the ledge. "I say we head the next state over" he announced.

All three of them gave him a look, but Jessie was the first to speak up. "Are you insane? We'll never make it that far. Cops are already looking for us, what makes you think we'll make it to the next state?"

Chris jumped down from the ledge. "That's why we need to travel fast. We'll hide and rest during the day and travel at night when's it harder to find us. Think about it, we'll change our looks and give it a year or two, the cops'll forget about us"

All four of them glanced at each other, like it was a silent poll and were waiting for someone to disagree.

Jessie disagreed but didn't say anything. She was tired of running. She didn't want the cops chasing her, but she refused to go back to _that_ miserable place. It was obvious the others made up their minds and were going to go through with it. She inhaled the cigarette, coughing only slightly this time. She saw Katie chew on her bottom lip uncertainly but didn't bother asking what was on her mind.

Jessie pressed her head back against the wall and mulled over the things that've happened these past four months. When she thought about the life she wanted, she had entirely different things in mind…

A good job, a nice apartment, a doting boyfriend whose family loved her like she was one of their own, and a golden retriever that would always smother her with kisses…

Not this.

Not going from one hellhole to another, and then running away and being chased by the cops to put them back there. Jessie stared up woefully, almost wishing that everything she wanted would fall from the sky and into her lap. She sighed and stared at the clouds, taking a lazy drag of the cigarette and closed her eyes.

Was this it? Was this going to be the rest of her life?

* * *

Jessie sighed and opened her eyes as the hot water sprayed on her head, lathering the shampoo in her hair. Of all the old memories, why did she have to remember that one?

It wouldn't be for another two months after that day Katie would suddenly disappeared and the police 'coincidentally' found and separated them. She never heard or thought about Chris and Liam again. Not that she dwelled on it, she highly doubted they ever thought of her again either. Besides, what good did dwelling on the past ever do for her?

Dwelling on whatever fantasy life she wanted wasn't going to do her any good either, she learned that a long time ago. Golden retriever? Doting boyfriend? What a load of crap.

She was one stupid kid.

She shook her head vigorously, lifting her face to wash the soap off when the water stopped. Confused, she turned the knob several times, but all she received was a loud groan from inside the wall.

"What the…? Harley!" she shouted, ripping the plastic shower curtain away but got no answer. She hastily wrapped a towel around her wet body and stepped out of the shower.

Wrenching the door open, she stormed into the hallway and into the living room where Harley was watching the morning news, the headline: _BATMAN STRIKES AGAIN: JONATHAN CRANE ARRESTED!_

For a moment she was distracted by the blue-eyed former psychiatrist being pushed into the police car in handcuffs. Apparently Harley had worked with him at one point, but never mentioned him after it was known that he was involved with the incident that happened in the Narrows. A cold breeze against her wet skin made her quickly glance back at Harley.

"Harley, did you pay the water bill?" Jessie demanded.

"What? Of course, I paid the water…" she stopped and raised her eyebrows in shock at seeing Jessie soaking wet and wearing only a towel. "Er…" she mumbled, taken aback and then stood up with a frown, putting the remote on the counter and walked into the kitchen.

Jessie following close behind, her wet feet sticking on the carpet. Harley turned the sink's faucet only to have it groan loudly just like the shower and no rushing water.

"Shit, must be the piping. I'll call someone to fix it" she said, then glanced back at Jessie, still covered in soap and shampoo.

When Harley stared to snicker in her throat, Jessie narrowed her eyes. "Well I'm happy you're amused" she seethed sarcastically. It wouldn't have been so funny if _she_ was the one standing naked in the kitchen and covered in soap.

"Oh, c'mon I'll help you out" she replied, grabbing a couple water bottles out of the case from the pantry.

Jessie felt utterly ridiculous as she bent her head over the sink as she and Harley tried to rinse the shampoo out of her hair, at the same time trying to keep it from touching the grimy sink. The water ran through her hair and down her forehead, she watched the shampoo and water swirl into the drain as Harley put down a third empty bottle. She heard Harley giggling above her head as she uncapped a fourth bottle and began to rinse.

" _How_ is this funny?" Jessie grumbled.

"How is this _not_ funny?" Harley asked, pouring water over her scalp.

Jessie groaned in annoyance and her eyes landed on the TV as a new headline screamed out at her on the screen: _BREAKING NEWS: ROBBERY AT GOTHAM CITY BANK._ It went to surveillance footage and showed three men in clown masks rushing inside the bank, guns raised.

"Whoa, whoa, turn that up for me" she gestured to the TV, standing up and feeling water trickle down her spine.

Harley grabbed the remote and raised the volume as a panel for Mike Engle appeared next to the surveillance footage. Jessie flipped her hair away and it stuck to her back with a loud _splack_. Clutching her towel, she padded into the living room and stood in front of the TV and listened.

"… _made the hostages hold onto unclipped grenades. Witnesses say that one of the robbers gunned down his own accomplices and escaped with the money_ "

Jessie watched the surveillance footage intently as one of the robbers stuck what looked like a pipe grenade in a banker's mouth and removed his mask. She moved closer to get a look at the guy's face, but she didn't have to. Without flinching or hesitation, he looked directly into the security camera as if he wanted to be seen. Her heart jumped in fright as his eyes met hers, as if he was staring directly at her through the screen, his head cocked and shoulders hunched.

A red smile was painted from one cheek to the other, black paint around his eyes which leaked into the white that was on the rest of his face. His hair…seemed to be green? It was hard to tell from the video's bad quality. It was only for a second, maybe two before he turned away and sauntered towards the bus.

" _Police have confirmed this man to be the Joker. The public is advised not to approach, he is armed and dangerous. If you have any information, you are urged to call the GCPD…_ "

Jessie raised her eyebrows, her mouth slightly agape in disbelief. So this was the Joker…

Sitting down on the edge of the coffee table, she leaned forward in front of the TV and watched the footage intently. Her fist tightened anxiously on her towel as she noticed some kind of wire attached to the clip of the pipe grenade in the banker's mouth and trailed under the Joker's navy jacket. The farther he walked away, the more it stretched until the clip fell out as the bus drove away. Her eyes widened in alarm and her hand flew to her mouth as her breath caught in her throat. The banker's eyes widened in fear, but instead of an explosion, a hazy gas leaked out of the pipe. The banker suddenly dropped his head, whether it was from relief or if he simply passed out from the gas she couldn't tell.

"Jesus…" Jessie breathed as relief washed over her too.

"I'll say this, he _is_ smart" Harley credited, "I'd love to know what's going on in his brain" she added interestedly.

Jessie grimaced and gave her roommate a look as she rubbed a polished fingernail on her chin. Harley blinked innocently when she saw her gaze.

"What? Oh come on, as if you wouldn't jump at the chance to see what he's like. You were the weirdo that was obsessed with serial killers in college, remember?"

Jessie rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she thought back to her early college days. She took a class where they'd learn about the mind of a serial killer. It was actually the same class where she met Harley. It was one of her favorite classes, but not for the reason Harley thought. Obsessed was a strong word to use. Fascinated? Sure. But not by serial killers, but how much they were able to get away with. Maybe it was the lack of advanced forensic science back in the day or maybe the system was just corrupt? Who knew why it took so long to catch those serial killers. It might be interesting to see what goes on in their minds, sure.

But as Jessie watched the footage replay to show the Joker putting the pipe grenade in the banker's mouth, an unsettling feeling sat in her stomach—like there's something much more sinister than what her eyes were seeing.

"I'd rather not…" she told Harley.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Tommy asked as Jessie sat in the passenger side of the car.

"Not good. Gambol was in a mood" she sighed, kicking off her heels and replacing them with her white tennis shoes. "He trusts me, that's the important thing. But it's gonna take me some time to find any substantial dirt on any of them. The quickest thing I might be able to find is their money. Just need to work Gambol a bit more when he's in a better mood" she explained, tying her hair back in a ponytail.

"Hm, maybe it's cuz of the robbery" Tommy replied, as he started the car.

Jessie raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What'd you mean?"

"You didn't hear? Gotham City Bank was another drop for the Mob. Gordon's talking about going in with SWAT teams, backup, the whole nine yards. This mission might be done sooner than you think"

"I don't have access to that kind of information, not unless Gordon tells me directly" she replied boringly, then pressed a knuckle to her chin in thought.

So Gordon found the bulk of the Mob's dirty cash? This should've been great news, but something wasn't sitting well with her. It was all too good to be true. If it was this easy to take down the Mob, it would've been done earlier. There had to be something. Something so obviously staring at her in the face and she couldn't see it.

She shook her head. "I'm going to keep working Gambol. It'll take time, but at least we have it"

Tommy glanced at her with an unimpressed look on his face. "I thought you'd be happy to get out of this gig" he stated in intrigue. "You're not really getting anywhere"

"Oh, I'm getting somewhere. It's just gonna take some time and patience" she assured.

Her way of doing things might've seemed like a dead end to him, but she was getting exactly where she needed to be. It might've even been going faster than she anticipated; Gambol, despite being in a bad mood, had invited her to join him at a hotel this weekend to 'hang out'. Of course, saying no would not have bode well especially when, to him, she was just a hooker looking for some good action.

"You know if I had my way, I'd drag those bastards out by their teeth and make them tell me what I need to know" Tommy told her nonchalantly.

"I'm sure you would, if you could get past Gambol and Maroni's men" she told him dryly as they approached a little strip mall. "Whoa, pull up in here" she said, pointing at the entrance.

"What for?" he asked, stepping on the brakes a little harshly so he could make the turn and pulled into a parking spot.

"Working on my second case" she replied, unbuckling her seatbelt as she stared at the prostitutes and a few sketchy-looking figures that looked like they were high on something.

"Thought you had your friend in the Narrows working on that?" Tommy said as he put the car in park.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to sit around and wait for answers" she replied, eying the lineup of prostitutes outside the closed antique shop.

She didn't hear Tommy step out of the car and slam the door shut as she dug around in her purse and she pulled out her badge and the picture of Katie as she approached them. The nearest one—bleached blonde hair, black fishnets, and heavy bright green makeup—was the first one to look at her and took a long drag of her cigarette.

"Sorry toots, I don't roll that way" she sneered.

Jessie chuckled sarcastically. "What a coincidence, neither do I" she replied tersely and held up her badge. "Detective Hargrove. Don't worry, you're not in trouble; I just have some questions" she added as the woman's eyes widened as she looked at the badge. Her momentary shocked expression dropped and turned into one of disgust.

"I don't care who you are, get lost. I know people that can make you disappear permanently"

Jessie furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief, but before she could retort, Tommy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me handle this" he whispered in her ear and approached the woman. She raised both eyebrows and opened her mouth to say this case didn't concern him when he held up his badge. "Officer Murphy, ma'am. The missing woman's a key witness in a murder case and has gone missing. We need whatever information you have, if you refuse to comply I have no reason but to arrest you"

Jessie stared at his back as he said such a blatant lie.

The woman made a face. "On what grounds?"

"Well, prostitution for one. And refusing to comply with police" he said calmly, as if he was explaining a hard math question and held his hand out to Jessie. Hesitantly, she placed the picture of Katie in his hand and held it up. "Now, have you seen this woman?" he asked authoritatively.

She squared her shoulders and reluctantly stood up straight, glaring at the two of them before drawing her eyes to the picture. "Sorry, never seen her before"

"What about him, have you seen him?" Jessie asked, holding up a picture of Dean Broderick.

Her eyes flickered in recognition. "In passing, he picked up Rosie about a month ago" she told her, jerking her thumb towards another blonde woman in pleather.

Upon hearing her name, the woman walked over, reeking of alcohol. She leaned closer and looked at the picture. "Oh yeah, I've seen him. Picked me up and took me to a motel"

"Which motel? Did he mention anything about a woman named Katie to you? Where she lived or anything like that?" Jessie questioned calmly.

Rosie folded her arms over her chest. "No offense, lady, but men don't exactly pick us up to talk about their lives, you know" she answered impolitely.

Jessie let out an exasperated sigh when Tommy held up a ten dollar bill. Both of the prostitutes' eyes landed on him as he held up the money, almost like dogs when their owner held up a treat. It was a little funny. "Which motel did he take you to?" he asked brusquely.

Rosie stared at the money and gave him a sultry up and down look. "I'm sure another five bucks might jog my memory" she suggested sweetly.

Before Jessie could tell him that it wasn't worth it, he took out another five dollars and rolled it up with the ten.

"31st Street, just down and around the corner, can't miss it" she answered simply as he handed the money.

Jessie gave him a disapproving look before cocking her head towards the car. Just as they both stepped off the sidewalk, the prostitute named Rosie reached out and touched his arm. Jessie stood by the car and watched as Tommy turned his head.

"If you're ever looking to have a little fun I'm always on this block, officer" she told him seductively.

Tommy gave her an unimpressed look. "I'll keep that it mind" he replied boringly and walked towards the driver's side of the car.

Jessie rolled her eyes and opened the door of the car, sitting inside. Prostitutes really would throw themselves at anything that moved as long as they paid well. Tommy started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. She looked at Tommy out of the corner of her eye, wondering if she should thank or reprimand him for getting involved with her case. He might've managed to get little information out of the prostitutes, but still it wasn't his case to get involved in. In the end she didn't say anything.

"You want to check out the motel?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She leaned her head back against the seat, deciding she'll let him help just for tonight. "Might as well" she answered.

* * *

 _Vrrr…Vrrr…Vrrr…_

Jessie groaned into her pillow, not bothering to raise her head as she reluctantly opened the top drawer of her nightstand, her hand brushed against her gun as she rummaged around for her phone. She had three of them: one was where potential clients can contact her, the second was specifically for Gordon or Greg to reach her with, and the third was just her personal one. Her hand brushed against the gun again until her fingers finally wrapped around the vibrating phone, turning her head just enough to see the caller I.D. come up as _'Private'._

With a deep sigh, she stretched her limbs and pushed herself up on her knees.

It'd been a long night. After finding the motel where Dean Broderick likely banged a hooker, she showed his picture to the old woman who sat behind the front desk who swore she'd never seen him before, saying people came and went all the time and she didn't bother remembering faces. Then after skimming through a check-in logbook and not finding his name, Jessie concluded he likely used a fake name. It would've been a tedious waste of time to go through the hundreds of guests that checked in the month prior so they decided to go back to where the prostitutes were hanging out and ask what name Broderick used, but they were all gone. At that point it was already 2 am. Back to square one…

Jessie swept back her messy hair and flipped open the phone, stifling a yawn. "Detective Hargrove" she spoke into the mouthpiece, expecting to hear Gordon's voice.

"Miss. Jessie?"

She was rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stopped. " _Greg?_ " she spoke, surprise and slight alarm making her wide-awake. She didn't expect him to call her so soon.

"I have some interestin' information for ya, Miss. Jessie. You're really gonna wanna hear this"

Her eyes darted suspiciously into the phone, not missing the alarm he was trying to hide in his voice. He always talked in a secretive tone like he was afraid of being overheard but alarm? This must've been important.

"I'll meet you tonight" she told him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Can't believe I forgot to say this last chapter, but thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/followed! I originally was going to split this into two chapters, but then decided not to, so it's a longg one. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5:

"And you're sure?"

"Checked all my sources to make sure it weren't bogus" Greg assured. "Broderick and the lady were living here in the Narrows alrigh'. After Falcone lost his marbles, Broderick was out of a job. Word is he works down at the docks now, after he and his lady had a fallin' out couple months back. She did start hookin' though, but no one's seen or heard from her since then"

Jessie exhaled deeply and stared into the fiery garbage bin, rubbing her arms as she felt goosebumps form on her skin, though it wasn't from the cold. If no one has seen her in months that usually meant one thing…

"It's possible he's working for another mobster now. Maybe Maroni? Or the Chechen?" she asked, unable to shake the image of Katie's body floating in the river.

Greg shrugged. "Guess it's possible, but I haven't heard nothin' 'bout it"

She nodded silently, taking in his information. "Alright, thanks" she told him, and handed him fifty dollars which he twisted anxiously in his hands.

"Listen, Miss. Jessie, I'm always here to help ya. But I don't want no business with this criminal underworld stuff" he told her apprehensively.

Jessie stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat. "Carmine Falcone's in Arkham, Greg. You have nothing to worry about" she told him and started to head back to the car.

"The Batman's might've got criminals runnin' scared but that ain't gonna stop the Mob, Miss. Jessie!" he snapped harshly. There was a brief silence between them and he quickly pursed his lips apologetically for snapping at her. "I'm only sayin' the Batman's started a lot o' trouble. If there's a war, we'll be the ones caught in the middle of it."

Jessie inhaled deeply and looked back at him. "Goodnight, Greg"

She continued walking towards the car, not wanting to get into the politics of Batman or vigilantism. Even after a year, the city was still torn about what to think of him. She had her own opinions about him, but never shared with anyone. She didn't idolize him like others seemed to, but did have a level of respect for him and what's he's done. It was a shame others thought differently.

According to the mayor, the police down at MCU were close to making an arrest. While Jessie didn't have access to any of that information, she doubted it was true. She was probably one of the few—if any—that knew Gordon was working with him. The investigation had to be either leading on a false trail or was entirely a ruse just so the city could still have some level of order. Condemning the Batman seemed to be the only thing that stopped others from taking the law into their own hands too.

All thoughts of the Batman were pushed out of her head as she sat into the car. Tommy looked at her expectantly.

"So?" he asked.

"Broderick worked for Falcone, after the Batman took him down he started working at the docks. I have a hunch he's working for another mobster now" she told him, pressing a knuckle to her chin in deep thought.

If he worked for a crime boss as big as Falcone, it only made sense that he would offer to serve the next big bosses in the hierarchy. It couldn't be Gambol. He had power, sure, but he didn't have the temperament to be Falcone's successor. Besides, she knew all the men he had at his disposal at this point. That just left Maroni and the Chechen…

Tommy suddenly raised his head slowly as if he just remembered something crucial. "Wait, Maroni has a hearing tomorrow about who stepped up to take over Falcone's empire, he's being prosecuted by Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes"

Her head quickly spun around to meet his. "It's not a public hearing is it?" she asked urgently.

"No, not after the incident that happened with Joe Chill seven years ago. Oh, the Waynes' murderer" he added when her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Ah," she said in understanding, remembering she briefly saw the news of the death of billionaire Gothamites, Martha and Thomas Wayne, when she was younger. They died _years_ before she came to Gotham. She shook her head, bringing her mind back to the case at hand. "If someone had to pick up the torch from Falcone, you think Maroni would be the one?"

"Without a doubt" Tommy answered immediately.

Jessie pressed a knuckle to her chin and tapped her foot in deep thought. "Broderick's doing something down at the docks, I don't know what it is but I have to check. He's the last person who saw Katie"

Tommy checked his watch. "Okay, we'll go there now" he concluded, turning over the engine.

Jessie looked at him in disbelief as he turned his car around. "We?" she asked questionably and he merely shrugged. Jessie pinched the bridge of her nose and held back a groan before hesitantly glancing at him. "Tommy, listen… I have nothing against you, okay? But this is my case and I work alone. I let you help last night—"

"Gordon said you had to take me on as a partner if you were gonna get inside the Mob. This other case of yours sounds like Mob business, so whether you work alone or not doesn't matter, I have to be there" he interrupted in a tone that clearly indicated to her that he was going to persist. She puckered her lips in annoyance.

"Fine. But we do it my way" she told him sternly.

* * *

"This is the place" Tommy said, turning off the headlights and put the car in park just outside the shipment yard.

It was quiet. Containers were stacked on top of one another, the dimly lit streetlights made them look like high walls and they weren't lined in any order, looking like a maze. Jessie glanced at the calm river where a boat was lazily floating by the dock. She cracked the window down just a little, feeling the night breeze on her forehead as her eyes scanned the area. Boxes and papers were ripped in two and were scattering each time the wind blew. A homeless person came and went, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"This is where Falcone's drug ring was busted last year. The place is mostly deserted now" Tommy explained.

Jessie craned her head and squinted into the darkness when something caught her eye. "So what do you think, Maroni's men or the Chechen?" she asked rhetorically, pressing a finger against the glass to point at the little warehouse at the far end of the dock. The lights were on inside.

She unzipped the backpack between her feet, kicked off her heels and pulled out the tennis shoes and tank top she brought with her.

She gave Tommy an expectant look. "Do you mind?"

At first he seemed confused but then turned his head in understanding, putting a hand over his closed eyes. She pulled the uncomfortable shirt over her head and replaced it with the loose white tank top and put on her tennis shoes. She also reached in and took out her gun, scrutinizing the fence until she found a spot where the fence was slightly curled and tangled within itself, looked like enough space for her to squeeze through.

"I'm going to check it out" she told him, opening the door to step out when he grabbed her wrist.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind, what if they see you?" he demanded.

"Maroni and Gambol were at the club tonight, there's no way they're here" she said, feeling a light sprinkle of rain through the open door.

"Well someone is" he jutted his chin towards the building, staring at it as if it was about to blow.

If Maroni and Gambol were at the club, that just left the Chechen and he didn't know who she was, they never met. She was sure if it was him inside there, she could come up with an excuse. Though she doubted it was the Chechen in there, her money was still on Maroni's men.

Tommy unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'm coming with you" he concluded, letting go of her wrist and stepped out of the car.

Jessie pulled her wrist back and watched as he walked around the hood of the car, she met him halfway and put a firm hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"It's hardly been a day and you're already not listening to me!" she scolded. "Look, Broderick might be in there and I need to find Katie. If he's not there, I'll be in and out five minutes but I need you to keep watch here. Otherwise, you're off this case and I'll ask Gordon for a new partner"

He blinked at her in surprise. The last threat just sprung to her mind on the spot, she didn't entirely mean it. But if she had to do it, she will. He looked away, shaking his head disapprovingly but also seemed to reluctantly obey.

"What if you're in trouble, how'll I know?" he asked begrudgingly.

Jessie held up her gun, made sure the safety was on and tucked it in the back of her shorts, draping her top over it. "Wait for the bang" she instructed, and walked towards the little space at the bottom of the fence.

Crouching down and carefully lifting it up so she could slide in. Tommy jogged over and held it up so she could squeeze through and carefully maneuvered around the wooden crates so they wouldn't fall over and make noise. Shivering as she weaved her way through the stacks of containers, it was a bad night to wear shorts. Each turn she made felt longer than the last.

So this was where the Batman was first spotted? She could only imagine the terror Falcone and his goons felt as they were stalked and taken down by him. A smile crept on her face as she imagined it. She would've loved to see it.

Anxiety slowly began to creep on her shoulders as the yard seemed to stretch on and on forever. The only sound that could be heard was the light pitter-patter of rain and her own soft footsteps. With each turn and step she took, she felt like she was miles from the car. As she came close to the boat parked by the docks, she craned her neck to see if anyone was on it, but all the lights were off. She continued to stride towards the lit building, glancing over shoulder and around for any sign of life.

When she finally reached it, the front door was chained with a thick padlock. Putting her hands on her hips and huffing in exasperation, she stared at the dirty windows. If the lights were on, there had to be another way inside. She moved around the warehouse, from the car it didn't look that big since it was just a single floor. But as she moved around it, she realized it was much bigger than it looked.

She walked past a shut garage that seemed to be for trucks and a crate that smelled like fish. Then she found a door, it was cracked open with light spilling out on the pavement. With a little jog in her step, she looked over her shoulder once again before slipping through it, wincing as she hit her elbow against the big blue city garbage bin next to it.

She ended up in a long, narrow hall that led to a wide open area ahead that was full of crates. She took a few steps closer, and then she heard it.

Whispering.

It wasn't coming from the wide area ahead of her, but maybe from a room in there.

She clenched and unclenched her fists anxiously. She had to at least take a look at what was in the room ahead, maybe the Mob hid more of their dirty cash here. Maybe even drugs, but from what she could see, there wasn't any place to hide. A part of her told her to turn back…but she's made it this far.

If she was caught, she was sure she'd come up with something to say.

Taking a deep breath, she took several cautious steps forward and the hushed whispering seemed to get louder. She took three long strides forward until she was just outside the wide room with the crates. There was a small office inside on the right that was barred by wooden panels. Rubbing her fingers on her palms, she stepped inside and crouched down behind one of the crates as she listened for what was being said inside the small office.

She was about to move closer to listen in when something in her peripherals caught her attention. She looked over to see a bright orange jumpsuit unceremoniously draped over a nearby chair.

Cautious, she looked over at the office to make sure they weren't stepping out anytime soon and grabbed it. She saw the words **ARKHAM ASYLUM** sewn in thick black letters, but didn't have time to look at it long.

Not realizing the jumpsuit would be heavy, as she tugged on it to get a closer look and the chair toppled on its side. She cringed, muttering _shit_ under her breath as the noise echoed loudly off the walls. Her heart dropped in her stomach as the talking in the other room abruptly stopped.

She didn't count for how long there was silence, but time seemed to freeze. In hindsight the noise might not have even been that loud, but in that moment it might as well have been a foghorn. A noise so loud that she was sure the entire city of Gotham could hear it, telling them she was in that room.

The entire moment of silence was more or less than ten seconds, but felt like forever. Something must've zapped in her brain because there was a voice screaming at her run and hide. But what was the point? There was no place to hide. Who knew how many goons were inside that office? It wouldn't take long to find her ducked behind one of the crates and then she would really be in trouble. Her heart hammered in chest at the thought.

Thinking quick, she tossed the jumpsuit inside one of the open boxes and stood up just as the office door was kicked open and two men stepped out, guns raised. As her mind almost immediately began to pinpoint which mobster these goons belonged to, she recognized the face of the second man. Dean Broderick.

For a moment she was stunned silent as she stared at him longer than necessary. Jessie felt like a deer caught in the headlights, but hoped it didn't show on her face. She slowly raised her hands out as they pointed their guns at her, but met their bewildered expressions with an innocent smile.

"Who are you? What the fuck are you doing in here?!" Broderick demanded.

"Hi," she said sheepishly as she tried to come up with something to say. "Er, sorry, don't mean to barge in like this, but, um…my car's out of gas; and I'm kinda stranded out there. I was wondering if you had any I could borrow, or maybe if you could point me towards the nearest gas station?" she babbled uncertainly.

Okay, it wasn't her best lie but it wasn't farfetched either.

Both men regarded her suspiciously before glancing quickly to each other then back to her. "Who else is with you?" the other man snapped.

He was much older than Broderick, probably closer to middle-aged. He was bald, thin, had crooked teeth and dark circles under his eyes. It also looked like he had some kind of scarring on his temples, but Jessie didn't look at him for too long.

"No, it's just me" she replied shortly.

Both men seemed to hesitate. Broderick was the first to slowly lower his gun as the second man walked past her towards the door as if to make sure there wasn't anyone else outside. The man came back less than a minute later with a shake of his head.

Broderick's eyes went back to her. "There's a gas station two miles down the road" he replied shortly.

Jessie chewed on her tongue. She needed to get Broderick alone somehow.

"Oh, cool…er, can I get a ride?" she asked hopefully, taking two steps forward as both men began to wander back towards the office, only stopping when they both gave her a warning look not to step any closer towards the room. Jessie took half a step back, just to put some distance in case they pulled out their guns again.

"Do I look like a cab driver to you, lady?" Broderick snapped.

Jessie hooked her finger in her belt loops. "Oh, c'mon, guys…" she whined pleadingly, trying to appear desperate. "It's just that my car's parked in the middle of the road and I really don't want the cops taking it"

At the word "cops", both men eyed each other warily, but their expressions were neutral, as if the smallest twitch would give them away. Even though Jessie already knew they were hiding something in that office. Something that was linked to Maroni or the Chechen, maybe even Gambol at this point. Of course they wouldn't want to risk the cops or anyone else coming here.

"I…I guess I could sit on the steps and wait for a tow truck?" she considered with a shrug, "Do you have a phone?"

Broderick raised his hand. "Just hold on a sec" he said sharply and disappeared behind the door.

The other goon disappeared too, but only halfway so he stood between the door and the doorframe. Jessie pretended to look around curiously with her back to the small room, but was really trying to listen at what the two men were whispering about; something that would link to one of the mobsters. She also silently wondered if whatever was behind that door was linked to Maroni, would she be able to give it to the district attorney before the prosecution tomorrow?

As she strained to listen for what was being said inside the room, there was something she heard quite clearly as though it was being growled in her ear.

" _Get rid of her_ "

Jessie instinctively turned her head just a fraction of an inch when she heard it, it was barely louder than a whisper; the command was short, angry, and impatient. It was definitely the kind of mannerism a mobster would have, but also not. It was much more menacing, almost like a rabid animal. Was that Broderick?

Jessie subconsciously rubbed her arm as she felt her skin crawl and every bone in her body screaming at her to run, but she stayed rooted to the spot as Broderick stepped out of the office, leaving the door cracked open just enough so a little ray of light was peeking through.

"Okay, I can give you a ride to the gas station but from there you're on your own" Broderick told her.

Jessie raised her eyebrows and smiled eagerly. "Really? Oh thank you, you're the best!" she said in relief.

Broderick nodded boringly. "Just wait here, I'll bring around my car" he said and walked away before she could answer.

The other man disappeared in a different direction and Jessie was suddenly alone, dropping the earnest smile as soon as the men were out of sight. She turned her back to the office and wandered around the crates, running her finger along the edge. Should she open one? It could be drugs, maybe even illegal guns, either of which would be enough to throw Maroni in jail.

Looking over her shoulder once to make sure neither of the men had walked in, her fingers brushed against the top of the crate and was ready to lift the dusty lid when an odd feeling settled in the pit of her stomach and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

There was someone else in there with her.

She was being watched.

She didn't know how she knew, but she did. Almost like a sixth sense. There was a third person in that warehouse and she could feel their eyes boring into the back of her head. Swallowing tightly, she moved her hands away from the crate as casually as she could possibly manage, pretending to brush dust off her fingers, not daring to look behind her. She wasn't even sure if they were visibly behind her, but she'd rather not find out.

Her fingers flexed, twitching to reach for her gun, but she wouldn't dare. Whoever was watching her might've had a gun aimed at her head for all she knew. It couldn't be Maroni or Gambol, she saw them at the club a few hours ago. She steadily sat down on top of the box, folding her hands in her lap and listened, waiting for anything or something that would make her pull out her gun. The sound of a click, just anything…

"Hey! C'mon let's go, I don't have all night" Broderick barked.

The abrupt break of silence made her jump as she turned her head to look at him as he impatiently gestured towards the door. She followed him, eyes darting once towards the small office. Jessie stayed a foot away as she followed him out of the warehouse, her eyes not leaving his form as she remembered why she was here in the first place. To find Katie.

She needed to get him alone, find out where Katie was, and which mobster he was working for now.

"Your friend not coming with us?" she asked curiously, looking over her shoulder to see if his friend was following behind, but he wasn't. Her fingers gripped the handle of her gun tightly like it was going to fall out and disappear the moment she needed it. It was still drizzling rain outside.

"No" he snorted as if she was the stupidest person in the world. They reached his car and Broderick reached for the door on the passenger side…

 _Click_

"That's good," she replied, pointing the gun at the back of his head. He paused at the sound, like he was trying to make sure it was what he thought it was and very slowly raised his hands in the air. "I've been looking for you, Dean Broderick" she added, quickly reaching around and removed his gun.

His head twitched slightly in surprise and turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Who are you?"

"Move away from the car" she commanded, ignoring his question, pressing the barrel of the gun to the back of his head as he obeyed her request and she made him face the wall of the warehouse with his hands folded behind his head. "Where's Katie Williams?"

He looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, confused. "What?"

Jessie turned him around and shoved him against the wall with all the strength she could muster, grabbing his collar. "Katie Williams. Tall, blonde hair? Apparently you liked tossing her around" she retorted impatiently.

"Wha…? Katie?"

"She went missing after Falcone lost power, you were the last one to see her. Where is she?" she snapped

His confused expression quickly turned into a smirk. "Oh, that bitch? I haven't seen her since we broke up months ago. I have no idea where she is"

Jessie narrowed her eyes, not believing a single word he spoke. She glanced briefly inside the warehouse at the small office off to the right then glared back at Broderick. "Who's in there?" she demanded, pointing her chin towards it.

Broderick turned his head just enough to look through the door while Jessie kept a tight hold on his collar and her gun. His smirk turning into a sneer. "Oh, that? Trust me, you don't want to know, lady"

She pressed the gun to his forehead, willing to bet anything that whatever was in that room would help her put the Mob behind bars, or more importantly, find Katie. "Try me" she challenged, pushing him in through the door.

They walked back into the warehouse, Jessie with one hand on the back of his collar and moved him towards the small office. The door was closed shut. Tightening her hold on his collar, she pushed him in front of it.

"Open it" she commanded.

Broderick reluctantly put one hand on the knob, but stopped as he turned it halfway and looked over his shoulder at her. "Look, you don't want to do this" he told her. She narrowed her eyes and pressed the gun closer to his head, not saying a word. Broderick then pursed his lips in a tight line. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you" he said then opened the door slowly. "Hey, boss?"

She kicked the door open, shoving him inside and followed. Bemused that there was no one there, when she was sure there would be. She _knew_ there was someone watching her through the cracks of the barred window. There was a third person in here.

But there was no closet or box to hide in. In fact, the office was unbelievably cramped and the stench of fish made her grimace. Fish and something equally repugnant…she wasn't sure what it was and didn't care enough to find out. There were three oil drums lined against the back wall and hardly any room to walk and the concrete floor was damp with what she assumed was water.

There was a splintered wooden table with a broken leg sitting in the middle of the room. While still keeping one hand on Broderick's collar, she pushed him forward and peered over at the various clippings that were spread on the table, tilting her head inquisitively. There were clippings of Commissioner Loeb, Gambol, Maroni, a rather nice-looking hotel, and various others she didn't recognize. But the one that really caught her attention was one of the bigger clippings of Batman, it was a rather blurry picture of him on a rooftop and someone had crudely drawn a mustache over his face in red marker.

Knitting her eyebrows together, she released Broderick's collar but still aimed her gun at him as she ran a finger over the Batman clipping, the red ink smearing on her finger and across the paper. The ink was still wet.

Someone was just here.

Her eyes landed towards the chair pushed into the other side of the desk and a crinkled navy blue blazer was unceremoniously thrown over it. She stared at it curiously, a bell ringing in the back of her head as if she should recognize it, but she didn't.

She turned her attention back to Broderick. "Who're you working for? The Chechen? Lau?" she demanded.

He snorted. "Yeah, right…"

Jessie turned him around and shoved him as hard as she could against the wall, he slumped down on one of the oil drums, his hands raised as she pointed the gun right between his eyes. "Fine, then you can talk to the police. But you're going to tell me everything about Katie"

Strangely, he stared at her forehead as if there was something that interested him and then he smirked. "She's probably jerking off some homeless sleaze as far as I know"

She scoffed in her throat impatiently. "I'm getting real tired of your shit. You knock her around, have a fight, then split and she disappears off the face of the earth? I don't think so"

As she stepped closer to press the barrel on his forehead, something crunched under her foot. She looked down to see what she stepped on and saw what looked like a small circular tin and something black leaking out from the edges. It smeared on the floor as she dragged her foot to clean it off. She blinked curiously.

Greasepaint?

She looked back to Broderick in time to see his face pale and his eyes widen in horror.

"Boss! No, wait!"

It was in that moment Jessie realized he hadn't been staring at her forehead, but over her head.

Someone was behind them. Watching her.

Her head spun around, but it wasn't even a second when she saw the tall dark figure that stood in the doorway and the whole room was suddenly aflame. Gasoline. The repugnant smell in the room was gasoline!

Her arm flew up over her eyes as the flames blinded her, adrenaline coursed through her veins as she began to panic. Without thinking, she jumped up onto a table and launched herself shoulder first through the top window.

The sound of breaking glass was loud in her ear, her gun clattered out of her hand as she landed on her arm and hit the asphalt. She'd never been so relieved to hear the pitter-patter of rain, it almost made her forget about the glass that was poking and jabbing into her skin. She rolled on the wet ground, taking out the fire that caught her clothing and shoes. Wincing, she sat up and examined the red blisters on her skin where the fire had touched her. They hurt when she moved but didn't look critical, much to her relief. She didn't pay attention to them long as she heard Broderick screaming from inside the office.

She jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain the best she could and looked for something, anything, that would help him get out.

However, any idea of getting him out was quickly cast aside as a loud boom from inside shook the ground and the glass windows above her head shattered into a million pieces. On instinct, she ducked down, trying to find cover and protecting her head at the same time as shards of glass cascaded all around her, echoing softly with the rain as they hit the ground. The sound was still ringing in her ears as she dared to raise her head, blood pumped loudly in her ears as two nauseating conclusions went through her frantic mind.

One, the oil drums lined against the wall was what caused the explosion.

Two, Dean Broderick stopped screaming.

 _No…no, no, no, no!_ Jessie thought desperately.

A new wave of panic went through her body as she tried to look for some kind of opening, anything that could get her back inside there. Maybe he'd gotten out just before the explosion, or maybe he was just unconscious, he couldn't be dead! He was her only lead to finding Katie. She ignored the gut feeling that told her she already knew what state Broderick was currently in and tried to look for something to stand on; something that would help her get to him.

However, any thought she had of getting him out of there was tossed aside when she felt someone watching her.

Jessie stopped as her body ran cold, but not from the rain. A pair of eyes were boring into her back, she prayed by some miracle that it was Tommy who stood behind her and not the same person that tried to trap them in the fire. Her throat went dry as she slowly turned her head over her shoulder to see a tall figure looming in the darkness, maybe twenty feet behind her. Even with the fire burning brightly, there wasn't enough light to see him clearly, but from his stature she could tell it wasn't Tommy…

The fire above them flickered and she caught a glint of a gun in his hand and her mind frantically tried to pinpoint where she dropped hers. But it was fruitless to find in this darkness, she could barely see her hands.

There was a stillness in the air as if the atmosphere itself was holding its breath. It couldn't have been longer than five seconds from the moment Jessie saw him there, saw the gun, and couldn't find her own. For a minute she forgot how to breathe, but all the adrenaline seemed to rush through her body as she watched, what felt like in slow motion, his hand twitch and slowly raise his gun…

She ran.

A scream escaped her throat as Jessie took about five running steps before the first bullet rang out and zipped right by her ear. She could hear his footsteps hitting the wet pavement fast behind her as she forced her legs to run faster than they would allow. She tried to throw anything she could in the path behind her; broken crates, small garbage bins. Running and ducking as more bullets were fired at her back, either hitting glass or bouncing off of something made of metal. She didn't have time to assess what they were.

Breathing heavily, she took a sharp turn into the maze of containers that were lined in an unorganized pattern. It could've been either the best spur of the moment decision she made, or the biggest case of poor judgement she ever made in her life.

As bullets panged and echoed off the containers, the more anxious she became with each turn. She didn't know her way through here. For a moment, she didn't hear him chasing her, but she'd be damned if she stopped to check for herself. Bullets continued to ring out in every direction, but she couldn't tell if they were behind her or ahead and she didn't want to find out. Then it occurred to her, maybe he knew his way around this maze. If she gets cornered in a dead end…

The thought willed her to run even faster, find some sort of safety. As she turned this way and that, she was relieved to see the boat parked by the dock just ahead of her. The relief was short-lived as a bullet grazed her arm, causing her to cry out as her arm stung. The dark figure was coming behind her quick. She didn't have a choice. Jessie ran towards the docks, her feet left the wet pavement to echo off the wooden pier, and without hesitating, she plunged into the cold water…

The cold was numbing and under the surface was pitch blackness. She felt her throat buckle almost immediately from lack of air, her heart hammered against her chest and her legs ached as if she was still running. She swam as close as she could to the boat, until Jessie was sure she was just under the dock and resurfaced. The cold air stung her throat as she tried to silently gasp for air. Somehow she ran faster than her body was able to keep up and it was taking its toll, her fatigued body wasn't going to let her stay afloat for long and she grabbed onto one of the pilings that held up the dock. She felt lightheaded; whether it was because of the adrenaline rush or if she was out of shape, she didn't know.

She didn't have time to think about it as the sound of thundering footsteps above her head brought her back to the trouble at hand. One arm wrapped around the piling to hold onto as the hand of her other arm flew over her mouth. She could hear him breathing, it was deep and raspy. And if she could hear him, he could hear her. Without warning, bullets began to fly in the water, splashing around in disarray. He was shooting at the water; maybe hoping to hit her. She bit back a yelp and squeezed her eyes shut as one bullet strayed a little too close for comfort.

Then there was silence. The only thing Jessie could hear was her blood pumping loudly in her ears and then the sound of footsteps slowly schlepping away. At first she thought he was retreating, but then he came back to where he was standing before, and then moved again…back and forth…back and forth.

He was waiting for her to resurface.

Jessie swallowed thickly as she watched his big feet through the gaps between the planks of wood, his heavy and impatient footsteps sounded like thunder in her ears. She still couldn't see his face and all she could remember from his dark figure looming in the darkness was that he was slightly hunched, but still tall. Then he stopped moving—just above her head.

Jessie bit down on her tongue to keep herself from making any sound as her breath hitched in her throat, thinking he saw her. But he only stood there, unmoving, and not giving any indication he knew where she was hiding. She didn't dare move; the smallest splash of water would give away exactly where she was, all it took was one small sound. She sunk herself just a little lower, slowly, until the water was underneath her chin.

Jessie dared to peek through the gaps again and was terrified to see the barrel of the silver gun, though hanging at his side, was staring back at her. He had a clear shot to hit her directly in the head, all he needed was a signal for him to know she was there.

Her heart was beating so fast and hard, she was surprised it wasn't making ripples in the water. Her hand tightened over her mouth, unaware she was causing herself pain in doing so. It felt like an eternity passed as he stood there. Then he emitted a raspy, frustrated snarl like an angry dog, making her skin crawl and then the sound of retreating footsteps.

This time for good.

She breathed slowly through the gaps between her fingers, waiting not only for her heart to stop racing, but for any sound that would tell her he was back. She waited to hear the heavy footsteps or his deep breathing…whoever he was.

Releasing a shuddery sigh of relief, she moved away from under the dock, the black water splashing softly around her, hitting her cheeks as she willed her tired body to stay afloat long enough for her to pull herself up on the dock. Her aching arms pulled herself up on the pier, water dripped from her clothes noisily as she stood up on her shaky legs, feeling as though they would give out any minute.

One hand squeezed above her knee and the other rested on her chest, her hair fell like wet curtains around her face as she breathed heavily and coughed, feeling dizzy. Out of all the cases she's taken…out of all the times she landed into trouble, _this_ had to be the most frightening experience she's ever had.

Shaking her head quickly, she raised her head and pushed back her hair, swallowing hard as she looked around. It was quiet and she was alone. To anyone else it might've been a scary realization, but she welcomed it. It was better than being chased around the shipment yard with no idea where you're going with a trigger-happy psycho after you.

Jessie cleared her throat and began to walk back towards the road while still keeping an eye out for any movement around her. They needed to get the police here. Surely someone somewhere heard that explosion or gunfire and called 911.

 _Oh, Gordon's just going to **love** this… _she thought sarcastically with a groan as she cautiously made her way towards the maze of containers, quickly starting to feel uneasy again. There was no way to get to the road except through them. Her fingers flexed nervously, really wishing she had her gun. She had to find it. If someone stole her gun, that could be _really_ bad.

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when two hands gripped her shoulders and she was tackled to the ground. Jessie barely had time to scream or realize what happened when she was turned around on her back and hands clasped around her throat. A choked scream escaped her mouth as the hands started to squeeze and in the low light she saw that it was the other goon. Broderick's friend.

Her eyes widened as she began to panic, trying to fight him off, scream, anything! The harder she scratched and punched at his arms, the more his fingers pressed down on her airway. Her mouth was open as she tried to scream, but the only sound that escaped her was a short gagging noise. She kicked her legs and thrashed around, but to no avail. Saliva slipped from the corners of her mouth and she began to see spots…

The dim light above her head seemed to shine brightly and her limbs felt numb as they slowly stopped fighting from lack of oxygen and exhaustion. Blackness began to cloud her vision and her head lolled to the side when running footsteps thumped against the asphalt.

Through the blackness that began to surround her vision, a dark figure appeared over the goon, grabbing and throwing him off so forcefully she heard the goon groan as his head bounce off the ground. Jessie heaved a deep desperate breath and coughed, rolling on her side as the pressure was relieved. Blinking several times until her vision was back to normal, she raised her head, trying to see through her bleary eyes just who had pulled him off.

"You alright?"

Tommy.

She sat up on her knees, still breathing heavily and massaged her neck as she saw Tommy holding down the goon with one knee on his chest and a gun pointed at his forehead.

"What took you so long?" she remarked hoarsely and cleared her throat, her mouth twitching into a grateful smile between her coughs.

He returned the smile with a nod and then turned back to look glaringly at the goon he was holding down. His chin tipped up just a little as if something clicked in his brain. "Rob Frazier" he said in recognition. "I think the doctors at Arkham Asylum are missing you" he scowled, making her eyes go wide.

"You know him?" she asked in disbelief.

"You haven't heard of this guy?" he asked, eyes darting to her then back to the man he held down as he growled. "Murdered his girlfriend and her parents with an axe. Avoided the chair and ended up in Arkham Asylum thanks to that scumbag, Crane." Tommy explained, holding him more firmly as he began to struggle. "Doesn't matter, cops should be here any min—"

Bullets suddenly rang out all around them as they bounced off the containers. Tommy was on his feet and quickly moved back, gun in hand. A scream escaped Jessie's lips as she ducked down on the ground, protecting her head as bullets flew and several profanities went through her head.

"What the fuck? Jessie, get back!" Tommy shouted as bullets fired out of his gun, aiming it towards the looming figure at the end of the pathway.

Jessie only saw him for a split second before Tommy jumped in front of her and fired several shots. It was him. The same man that chased her to the docks.

Suddenly the sound of sirens rang out with the bullets and the flashing of red and blue lights. Jessie glanced around Tommy's arm just in time to see the looming figure run away. Tommy made to run after him, but she grabbed the material of his jacket on his shoulder and stopped him.

"No, don't!" she protested. Tommy spun his head around and gave her a bewildered look as she tightened her hold on his jacket, looking past him on the ground. "I-I don't think he was aiming for you…" she said, nodding shakily to the bullet-riddled and now dead, Rob Frazier.

* * *

Tommy lent her his jacket.

After they managed to calm down after the events that took place, Tommy was first to notice that Jessie's white shirt was soaked through, showing a visible outline of her bra. Jessie's face reddened out of shock and covered her chest, barely registering that Tommy was quick to take off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but she thought she saw his cheeks slightly flushed as he looked away, which made her even more embarrassed.

The cops managed to find them fast enough and half an hour later, Jessie sat in an ambulance with a blanket around her shoulders after the EMT had checked all the cuts and grazes on her body from the glass and bullet. Nothing critical, but she didn't notice until after she sat down in the ambulance how much the wound from the grazed bullet really stung. Tommy stood quietly next to her after he checked out too. Exhaustion was quickly taking its toll on her body and she willed herself not to close her eyes, really wishing she had coffee.

Tommy suddenly straightened up and she looked over to see Lieutenant Gordon storming up to them, looking positively livid. He stopped short between the two of them and looked from Tommy to Jessie then back again with his hands on his hips. "What the hell _happened_?" he demanded.

She pursed her lips, eyes darting quickly to Tommy knowing he was going to get the brunt of Gordon's lecture and it made her feel guilty. Tommy chewed on his bottom lip and opened his mouth, but Jessie spoke first.

"I had a lead on another case I'm working on" she started and Gordon's eyes fell to her. "A missing person's case, a person of interest was working here and was the last one to see her. I went in to find the guy, but…things got out of hand. And you're not gonna like this, but I think this case might be connected with the Mob"

Gordon's eyes widened in disbelief with every word she said and he rubbed his face as if he was trying to hold back a lot of frustration. "And by the river…for god's sake, do you know how many bodies we pull out of there? You're lucky you're both alive, you know that?" he snapped as if he was speaking to a couple of children who went snooping where they shouldn't have. And then his eyes turned to stare disappointedly at Tommy, like a teacher who had to discipline an overall good student over one mishap.

"Don't blame him, lieutenant. I asked him to help me" she fibbed quickly. The lie fell so naturally off her tongue, she almost convinced herself. Tommy, who'd had his head bowed, gazed at her in shock, stunned silent. She expected him to intervene, but subtly nudged him with her knee, warning him not to and to wipe the flabbergasted look off his face.

Gordon's eyes went back to her and remained silent as if he was waiting for her to elaborate. He looked between them as if expecting an argument to happen, but it didn't. A moment passed and Gordon pinched the bridge of his nose like a father that was trying to find patience with his disobedient children.

"I asked you to take on a partner while you find out what's happening in the Mob's inner circle, _not_ to help you with your other cases, detective" he scolded, again, like an parent and less like a cop.

She nodded. "I understand. It won't happen again, I promise"

"Good. Now, where's this person-of-interest of yours?" he asked.

Just as she was about to point to the warehouse, people from the forensics department walked by with a stretcher and a black sheet draped over what was obviously a body. The smell of burned human remains hit her nose hard and she felt her stomach lurch and give a heave, but she hadn't eaten in hours so the only thing to rise in her throat was bile. Jessie pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and turned away as Gordon looked over his shoulder.

"That him?" he asked, to which she nodded silently, swallowing back the bile.

One would expect that she'd come across her fair share of dead bodies in her line of work, but surprisingly not. At least, not enough times for her to get used to it. The thought of them? Sure. But actually seeing them? No.

A man about Gordon's age with curly graying dark hair and slightly wider frame came jogging over to them, his badge swinging back and forth around his neck and a little clear plastic zip-lock bag held between his fingers.

"Hey, Jim, you should come take a look at this" he said, beckoning him over.

Gordon furrowed his eyebrows and walked over, where he and some other detectives gathered around.

"You didn't have to do that for me" Tommy suddenly spoke as Gordon walked out of earshot. Jessie glanced over at him, his arms crossed over his chest and he didn't meet her eye.

She sighed, shaking her head. "Yes, I did. Consider it a thanks for saving my ass" she replied impassively. Tommy gave her a look, a 'you-don't-always-have-to-be-so-snarky' kind of look and she met it with another shake of her head. "Listen, thanks for coming to my rescue, really. But next time if—"

"Detective Hargrove, Officer Murphy, a word please?" Gordon called, gesturing them over.

Both their heads turned to him at the same time before regarding each other questionably. Jessie gave Tommy a pointed look saying they'd talk about this later as she stood up, holding the blanket around her shoulders, and they walked over to him and the other detectives that were standing around him. The detective from earlier was still holding the plastic bag she saw earlier, along with a shiny black object.

"That's mine!" she exclaimed in surprise, recognizing her gun immediately. The detective handed it back to her and she checked to make sure all the bullets were still in the magazine, much to her relief they were. It was cold and wet in her hand, didn't look like it'd been touched after she dropped it, let alone fired. Jessie held it close and then looked back to Gordon as he cleared his throat. "What is it?" she asked.

"Earlier you mentioned being chased to the docks by a man with a gun, and presumably, this is the same man who shot at you and killed Rob Frazier?" he added to Tommy, who nodded. "Do you remember what he looked like?"

"No. Couldn't see his face, it was too dark" she looked back at Tommy expectantly, thinking he'd counter what she said, but he only nodded in agreement. Jessie glanced back at Gordon. "Why?" she asked curiously.

He sighed deeply. It was the tired sigh of a man who's worked in the police force a long time. He outstretched his hand and the detective next to him put the clear little bag in his palm. "Because we might have an idea" he explained, holding it up. "Do you know what this means?" he interrogated calmly.

She tilted her head slightly as she peered at what was inside it. It was a playing card, just a normal one you'd find in a deck of 52. She knit her eyebrows together. "So, they played cards. What's that supposed to tell us?" she asked with a shrug.

"Look closer" Gordon stated.

Confused, she looked again, more closely this time, trying to figure out its significance. Maybe it was because of the lack of caffeine in her system or maybe even exhaustion that she didn't figured it out sooner. On the card was a cartoon jester, a joker.

Joker.

 _Joker._

No…it couldn't be…

Tommy seemed to realize it too because he'd gone dead silent.

And then it all hit her like a ton of bricks. Her mind was reeling as it replayed everything that happened in the past few hours. That office with the oil drums and everything in it seemed to fall into place. The greasepaint, and the crinkled navy blue jacket…

Now she remembered seeing him wear it in the surveillance footage when he robbed the bank the other day. Her heart began to beat fast over the realization that it was the Joker that chased her through the maze of containers. The realization made it all the more terrifying. And Broderick…

Dean Broderick hadn't been working for a mobster.

He'd been working for the Joker.

"Are you telling me…?" Tommy's voice bringing her back only for a second.

"Yes. It fits his MO, he always leaves a calling card" Gordon confirmed, his voice sounding far away.

Her mouth was agape as several emotions seemed to go through her body like a monstrous wave; shock, confusion, surprise, fear. Of course she remembered seeing him on the news when he robbed the bank, but to actually be in the same _place_ as him? It was jarring.

Jessie shook her head vigorously, shuddering. She was so lost in her trance, she didn't notice that Gordon had moved on to speak to his detectives, giving them instructions and then turned back to the two of them after they scattered. Although the man with the graying dark hair stood by Gordon's side.

"Officer Murphy, I'll need you to come down to the station and fill out some paperwork about the events that took place tonight" Gordon instructed, rubbing his nose.

He blinked. "Of course, sir" he responded, compliant yet uncertain as he looked to Jessie as if to remind Gordon that he was also her ride home.

Gordon didn't seem to forget because he gestured to the man next to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder like an old friend. "Miss. Hargrove, this is Detective Stephens. He'll escort you home tonight" he said.

Stephens nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"Likewise" she replied distractedly.

Jessie indistinctively saw Tommy wave goodbye out of the corner of her eye and absentmindedly returned it, but didn't take her eyes off Gordon as they narrowed suspiciously. The man she now knew as Detective Stephens mumbled something to him before kindly turning to her and motioning towards his car. However, she didn't move as Gordon stared out at the shipment yard as if waiting for something to appear.

"You're unusually calm about all this, lieutenant" she observed suspiciously.

Gordon looked over his shoulder as if surprised she was still standing there. "I've seen my fair share of things like this, detective" he answered tiredly

Jessie, however, wasn't convinced. Practically forgetting that Stephens was standing behind her, waiting for her to him to his car, she approached Gordon with a serious look on her face. "What can you tell me about this Joker guy?" she asked, standing just over his shoulder.

He slumped his shoulders, and sighed deeply in what Jessie could only describe as fatigue. "As of right now, you know as much as I do" he told her regrettably.

Her eyes widened. "You're…you're not serious" she said incredulously.

"We have more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. All my resources are going towards getting the Mob behind bars" he said, calm yet somewhat defensive.

"You mean like Maroni's hearing about the criminal empire? I know. Officer Murphy filled me in" she explained as Gordon turned to face her completely. "While I understand your priorities, _this_ …" she could hardly finish her sentence as she pointed to the yard behind him.

"I'm not sweeping this under the rug" he assured firmly. "But he's one man, he can wait"

Jessie chewed on her bottom lip uncertainly, knowing she thought the same thing. She wasn't so sure now, _but_ at the same time Gordon was right too; the Mob was the bigger problem.

She sighed resignedly and stared back at him. "I'll go with whatever you think is right"

Gordon put both hands on her shoulders and squeezed them comfortingly like a father she never had. Despite it being a gesture of kindness it felt so foreign to her that she flinched under his touch, wanting to step away, but she didn't; she knew Gordon wasn't the type to be easily offended if she did, but still…

"You're understandably rattled; go home, Jessie" he told her quietly. "Call me tomorrow and tell me where we are with our operation" he added with a knowing nod and motioned to Stephens again.

As Gordon's hands left her shoulders an all too familiar emptiness began to fill in her chest, feeling like a lost child left in the middle of an empty street with nothing but a blanket around her shoulders.

She was brought back to her senses when Stephens put a gentle hand on her back and led her towards the car. Jessie wanted to all but smack herself.

 _Fucking hell, Jessie what is wrong with you!?_ _Get it together, you're not a child anymore. You're a grown woman!_ She shouted at herself internally.

Stephens made small talk with her all the way to the car. She feigned a smile and vaguely responded to him while still trying to collect her thoughts as she sat in the passenger side of the car and he sat in the driver's side. He pulled the car away from the shipment yard and she rolled down the window, enjoying the cool breeze that hit her face.

 _It's been a long night, you're tired_ she told herself. Jessie pressed a finger to her temple, rotating it in circles as she felt a headache coming on.

* * *

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